


At War Against the World: Part One: Heaviness of Hearts

by Lumelle



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Genderbending, Heir issues, Het and Slash, Heterosexual Character, Heterosexuality, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Parenthood, Secrets, Sex, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-04
Updated: 2011-02-04
Packaged: 2017-10-15 09:52:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 42,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/159603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumelle/pseuds/Lumelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kyou disappears on him in the middle of the night, Dino is certain she will return sooner or later. When she appears to have entirely isolated herself from the world, though, he starts to grow concerned. However, it's not until Dino is called to protect the Foundation base against attackers that he discovers her little secret -- and realizes just how much of an effect it will have on both of their lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At War Against the World: Part One: Heaviness of Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Dino's birthday. Yes, part one. This monster is just a hair short of 43k and it insists that there will some day be part two. And possibly three. Entirely readable as a (very long) one-shot, though.

  
**  
_Part One_   
**

**Heaviness of Hearts**

 **  
I   
**

Hibari Kyou, Dino mused to himself, had never been the most feminine of women, neither in manner nor appearance. In fact, when he had first met her in Namimori all those years ago, he had been convinced she was a boy all the way until a rip on her shirt from his whip had revealed the strap of a plain though practical bra. Between the aggressive behaviour, boyish language, and a boys' uniform to top it off, there really had been very little in the way of clues. Her body was slender from all her battles, almost entirely without curves – hardly even deserving of the little training bra back then, not that Dino would have ever dared to say that to her face – and it wasn't like she ever actually cared what others thought of her. Even now, years later, when sometimes one could actually spy the curve of breasts or hips under her clothes if you knew where and how to look, there were people who went through entire meetings and business transactions with the Head of Foundation without ever realizing that they were not talking with a man.

Kyou certainly seemed comfortable with this misconception, not that Dino could particularly blame her. Though attitudes were changing, in both the mafia world and the traditional Japanese values a woman was not often seen in positions of power. If someone mistook her for a man, they were more likely to give actual weight and consideration to her opinions, and while she hated to even acknowledge the fact that someone might not place her opinion at a status of utmost importance, Dino did suspect she at least subconsciously fed the illusion. She spoke in a manner cruder than most would have expected of a woman, refused to cover her body in obviously female attire no matter what the occasion, and never, ever corrected anyone who made the mistake of thinking she was male. It was not quite deceit, nor a disguise, but the fact certainly remained that when people thought of women in mafia Hibari Kyou was far from the first to spring into mind.

Then why, he thought to himself, just about managing to keep from licking his lips in anticipation as Kyou walked towards him, why was it that this slender body with just a hint of softness around the edges and the crass mouth could turn him on so much more than the curviest little Italian heiresses in their attempts to seduce him?

Perhaps Kyou was different from said heiresses, but she certainly managed to lead his blood to rush into his groin as she approached him very purposefully, her intent clear in her eyes. Not that there ever was more than one reason why she would show up in his bedroom late at night. Nobody ever spoke about it – nobody ever dared – but each and every man who would ever be assigned to guard his door knew to let Kyou in without a question, just as they knew what went on behind said door once it was closed and locked. When they fought, it happened outside, when they discussed business, they had their offices to use. When Kyou showed up in his bedroom instead, though, he knew that while there might be ripped clothes and bruises in sight, they had little to do with their weapons.

Kyou's hands grasped on the front of his shirt to yank him down, solving the problem of their height difference in her usual direct way as she forced her lips on his, not that there was much forcing to do when he was all too eager to comply. Her body felt heated against his even through their clothes as she pressed close to him, allowing his hands to wander about her body as long as he didn't think even for a moment that he was setting the pace of their little encounter.

Already breathless as she finally let him draw away from the kiss, Dino wondered if he could ever get enough of Kyou.

He had slept with other women before, of course. There was always the daughter of a don who was willing to speak to her father in his favour if only he showed her a good time this once, and old widows who were quite more wicked than they appeared on the surface, and simply situations where he perhaps had nothing material to gain but concluded that the peace between his family and another was well worth a night in someone's bed. There was very little he would not do if it could benefit his family, and sex didn't come even close to that list.  
There were people, as he well knew, who considered that sex was something special all by itself, something that should only be shared with someone dear to your heart and not just your body. It was a beautiful dream, Dino would admit that, but dreams were something a don could rarely afford. For him, sex was a resource just as any other, a way of exchange, and he had always been good at trading resources for the best of his family.  
He never got anything out of sleeping with Kyou, not in the materialistic sense. He knew she would have treated him no differently if they had never fallen in bed together in the first place, knew that she would never treat him any differently for the fact that they had. She offered no favours, no reprieve from her usual attacks, nothing but the sight of her flushed face and scratch marks along his back once they were done. For Kyou, this was all about satisfying her needs, the one instinct she had that could not be fulfilled by bruising skin and breaking bones and drawing blood, and Dino was means to an end just as he was one when she wanted to train her body. She never simply laid back and let him pleasure her, never simply passively received what he wanted to give. She took what she needed and wanted from him and accepted neither excuses nor weakness, neither overt gentleness nor closeness, and every time she was gone before morning and Dino was left wondering just why he had ever thought this would be a good idea, again.

Whenever she came back he remembered, though, he remembered how hot her skin was against him and how demanding her mouth as she kissed him, and for once he could remember that sometimes pleasure could be the very purpose of sex and not just a little side bonus to what was basically a business transaction. It was always a very painful pleasure, the kind that left him exhausted well into the following day, exhausted and distracted by the thoughts of Kyou's burning eyes in the darkness and her fingers gripping onto his arms and the warmth that surrounded him as she knelt over him just before running her nails in deep scratches down his chest. Despite the pain, he was always left yearning more, he never wanted more from any of the other women but always from Kyou, between all the little heiresses and vultures she was the one that took the most from him and gave him the least yet she was the only one he always wanted to see in his bed again and again and again.

He still vividly remembered the first time they had had sex – fucked, slept together, made love, such terms tended to all become blurred in Dino's mind when it came to Kyou. It had been while he had been training her, she rarely tolerated his presence back then after all, a young woman far too old for middle school except nobody dared to tell her that. That particular battle had ended in his defeat, as far as they ever ended, any moment spent in Kyou's presence more a battle than anything. She had knelt over him, both of them sweaty and exhausted and aching, and before he had managed to realize what was happening she had been kissing him, hard and demanding. The details after that were blurred in his mind but then they had been blurred the first time around as well, the only clear images in his head the sight of Kyou's face above him as she bit her lip to keep from crying out and the movement of her body against his, of course she would still insist on being the one in control even as she allowed him inside her body. Afterwards Dino had been left with his body aching and mind reeling, almost inclined to believe nothing had ever happened if not for the used condom, and the next time they met neither had made any mention of what had happened, but this time Dino had been the one to prepare adequate protection.

It had become something of a bad habit since then, the regularly irregular times when sparring was not the only exercise they offered to each other, and though the Kyou in his arms now was a touch taller and just a bit curvier than the one who had first straddled with a soft hiss and nails clawing at his chest she never failed to bring him the same breathless pleasure. It was probably due to the fact that, unwise or not, over the years he had come to realize she had grasped his very heart in her pale hands from the moment they had first met. That, he thought almost wryly as his hips worked to meet hers in a frantic rhythm that had little to do with care or gentleness, or the fact that she always worked him to the last inch of his strength, whether it was in battle or bed. Either worked, really.

She lay in his arms afterwards, one of the rare times she allowed him to actually hold her close, either too tired or too lazy to disappear into the night just yet. His hands rested on her hips, her head on his chest, the moment almost gentle if not for the nails drawing a senseless pattern on his side, a mock gesture of gentleness yet just sharp enough to sting.

"My family have been talking lately," he said, finally breaking the silence. "They think I should get married."

"Is that so," was the answer, rather dispassionate. Kyou almost sounded like she was about to fall asleep, none of this really interested her and could Dino just please get on with whatever he had to say so they could get back to silence. So very typical.

"I'm not getting any younger," he continued, almost stumbling over the words no matter how often he had rehearsed them in his mind, "and the family needs a proper heir."

"Indeed." She sat up now, an absolutely delicious sight with her hair as messed up as ever, the slightest of flushes lingering on her skin. "You are the boss of a major family. A strong, legitimate heir of proper heritage is pretty much a must."

"Exactly," Dino said, feeling relieved that she apparently understood what he was talking about. Then, however, she moved again, and he frowned. "...Kyou? Why are you getting dressed in the middle of the night?"

"I remembered something I need to attend to." Kyou gave him an almost cold gaze as she very quickly covered her bare body. "I'm sure your family will help you find a suitable wife even if I'm not kicking you along."

By the time Dino realized just what the matter was, she was already gone, leaving him sitting alone on his bed with his mouth half-opened to speak. Sighing, he fell back onto his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Ah, well. He'd just have to clarify his intentions the next time she came over. Obviously he wasn't going to marry anyone else but her, and he was going to tell her as much.

As soon as she came back.

*

"He's getting married?"

"Yes." Kyou wiped sweat from her forehead, then stretched her aching arms. There were few people in the world who could still give her a good work-out one on one, and only two with whom she met regularly. Cavallone was over in Italy – and good riddance – while the other stood next to her right now, as exhausted from their spar as she was. "Apparently even his family has finally realized that he's not a teenager anymore."

"Figures." Suzuki Adelheid frowned, examining a deep scratch on her thigh with an almost detached lack of interest. It was a strange little companionship, the one they had formed, yet following the newly forged peace between Shimon and Vongola it had been almost inevitable. Though about as different in appearance as two Japanese could be – Kyou androgynous to the point of occasionally passing for a male, Adelheid flaunting her gender for all it was worth – in the inside, they were surprisingly similar. Aside from Adelheid's never-ending loyalty to her little boss, something Kyou would never quite understand, they were both exactly as prideful, violent and strict, knowing all too well the difficulties of being a woman in what was still essentially a man's world. They did not meet for sleepovers and girly chatter – that was for Sawada's wife and her little friends – but it was rather satisfying to occasionally follow a good sparring session by bitching at someone who actually had a chance of understanding her way of thinking. "Any clue as to whom?"

"Nothing aside from a mention of needing a 'proper' heir." Kyou scowled. She knew full well that what she and Cavallone had could not exactly be called a relationship, not when neither expected any kind of commitment or loyalty from the other, but there was still something of a regularity to their interactions. The least she deserved was a proper warning, not some not-so-subtle hints at her unsuitability to stand by his side even if he welcomed her into his bed. "And he waited until after sex to tell me even that much."

"Men," Adelheid snorted. "As long as they get to stick it in, anything goes."

"Unless they are herbivores." And loathe though she was to admit it, Cavallone Dino was most certainly not an herbivore. He did have some of the tendencies, but if there was any threat to his family, he had a rather impressive set of teeth to bare. He would do anything for his family, cut down any threat to it, and his personal pleasure would always come second to that, however hard that might have been to believe given his amiable little mask. Kyou had seen behind that mask often enough to know.

She'd slept with him simply to provide an alibi. She'd had her clothes stained with blood that was neither his nor hers as his hands grasped on her in the heat of the moment while they moved against each other. He'd heard the calm tone of his voice as he ordered relatively innocent people killed. There was a lot he could tolerate for the sake of his personal affections, but when it came to a contest between that and the good of his family, the family always came first. And a scandalous little affair with the Vongola Cloud would have dragged the family name through mud and kicked it down a hill.

She supposed it was only for the better that he had chosen to break things off with her even though no formal engagement had been announced yet. It made her own decisions so much easier.

"I take it you didn't tell him." Adelheid's words were a statement, not a question.

"What use would it be anyway?" Kyou rolled her eyes. "He was very clear on what my role in his life is. He can find out when everyone else does."

"And when is that?" Adelheid's eyes were sharp on her. "In your funeral?"

Kyou didn't answer the question, but then she doubted Adelheid had ever expected her to do so.

*

"...Kyou-san?"

As there was no answer to his call, Tetsu walked further into the house. Not that he had expected an answer at this hour, really; it was drawing close to midnight, so Kyou-san would most likely be already fast asleep. He'd only asked for her in case this was one of the rare nights when she stayed up late working on something, in which case she was always irritated if he didn't announce his entrance. However, if she was asleep, she didn't really care what he did in the house as long as he didn't disturb her sleep. Not that he was planning to stay long, anyway. He just needed to get some papers from her study that had to be at the office early the following morning.

His steps were the only sound he could spy in the otherwise entirely silent house. Good. Nothing would be startling his boss from her sleep, then. Few things were more irate than Kyou-san who had not had enough sleep, and Tetsu would just as well not deal with her wrath the following day just because a particular loud bird had taken residence in her garden.

He was especially careful as he passed her bedroom, not wanting to be directly at the receiving end of her wrath. Now, just to get to the study and then back out...

"Tetsu?"

The sudden question almost startled him, except years of working with Kyou-san had trained him not to be easily startled. Turning around, he found himself looking through the half-open door of the living room. That was strange. If Kyou-san was awake at this hour, it was always in her study. "...Kyou-san?"

"Was there something you needed?" Kyou-san was sitting in the living room, unlikely or not, apparently perfectly calmly sipping at some tea despite the late hour. The only indication that this was not her usual time to be taking a break was the light yukata she wore, the only thing currently covering her pale body. The collar was slightly skewed, almost falling off one shoulder. Tetsu made sure not to look anywhere near it.

"I just forgot to get a report that'll be needed tomorrow, Kyou-san," he replied. "Is something the matter?"

"...Not exactly." Kyou-san was quiet for a moment, taking another sip of her tea, before adding, "I can't sleep."

Tetsu frowned. He'd known Kyou-san ever since he'd entered middle school, at which point she had already reigned over Namimori with an iron fist and a scarred pair of tonfas. In all that time, he had never encountered a situation in which she found herself unable to sleep. He'd seen her very calmly wake up from a nap mere minutes before heading into a bloodied battle. For her not to be able to sleep was about as unnatural as if the sun had suddenly announced it couldn't climb up to the sky in the morning.

"Don't look like that," Kyou-san said, giving him an almost disinterested look as she noted his undoubtedly worried expression. "No, nothing is wrong. I'm just having trouble settling down."

"Ah." Tetsu nodded somewhat hesitantly. "...Is there anything I can do?"

Kyou-san was quiet long enough that he almost thought she simply considered his question too stupid to merit an answer. However, just as he was about to head towards the study to get the papers and leave her alone, she spoke up. "...Sit down."

Bewildered though he was by the order, Tetsu knew better than to question his boss. Stepping into the living room, he closed the door behind himself, taking a seat. He still did his very best not to look at Kyou-san anywhere below her neck. She had shifted now, the yukata ending up in an even more precarious position, yet she seemed not to even notice.

Just as he was beginning to wonder if she had immediately forgotten about his presence, concentrating on her tea instead, Kyou-san turned her eyes to him. "There's something I need you to do for me."

"Kyou-san?" Tetsu frowned. Something unusual was up, that much was clear. Never mind the sudden sleeplessness, anything pertaining to Foundation could surely have waited until the morning. If there was something Kyou-san found absolutely necessary to discuss right now, it had to be a rather special case.

"Again, don't look like that." Kyou-san very nearly scowled. "No, I will not be dead by morning, so stop looking so worried."

"I never --" Tetsu started, frowning, only to be cut off.

"Quiet." And as though to give him a demonstration, Kyou-san herself fell silent again. Obviously, this hardly helped Tetsu's frustration in wanting to know what was the matter. However, he knew better than to prompt her to finally tell him. That would only backfire on him; he wouldn't have wondered if she had simply decided to send him off on his way without ever telling him just what was preoccupying her so.

"I have... a certain condition." As the words finally came, they made Tetsu pale despite himself. There was a strangely serious tone to Kyou-san's voice, one that he was not accustomed to hearing. "It will not affect my working for a while yet, but it will grow more serious as time passes." Her eyes were sharp on him as she added, "You are to help me to keep anyone from finding out."

"...Kyou-san." He nodded, understanding the reprimand. "What do I have to do?"

"First off, find me a doctor. One who is discreet enough not to cause suspicion, and smart enough not to cause trouble. I'll give you my specifications later. They should be one I can reach at any time, no matter what. I am not going to jeopardize my health any further simply because you choose someone who decides to bail on me."

"Understood, Kyou-san." He nodded seriously. "What else?"

"...As this gets further, I'll be unable to handle my usual affairs." Kyou-san's expression still didn't waver from the almost frightening calmness it had taken on. "Once I reach that point, you're going to be my contact with the rest of the world. This includes everyone – Cavallone, Vongola, Foundation, any allies. I'll make sure to prepare others for the change, but you will be the one to bear most of the responsibility once we get to that."

"...I understand." Except he didn't. He wasn't sure if Kyou-san was being vague on purpose but he did most certainly not understand, he had no idea just what was going on aside from some vague hints, surely he needed to know exactly what they were going to face if he was to help his boss with this problem.

Kyou-san would tell him eventually, though, he was sure. She would have to, or he wouldn't be of much help to her, after all. She would tell him what he needed to know, when he needed to know it, and until then, he would just have to be patient.

Be patient, and try not to be too fearful lest she bite him to death.

*

"Hibari! Hibari!"

Kyou looked up as Hibird circled towards her, fluttering its tiny wings as it finally landed on her finger. "Hello there, little one," she murmured. "About the time you show up. You almost missed dinner."

"Food?" Hibird asked, apparently quite insistent that it was not too late. As though she'd ever let it get hungry.

"Already set out for you." She nodded towards the table, where she'd set out Hibird's usual little bowl of seeds and another of water. Of course, the bird did have its usual bowls near its perch, but it still preferred to eat when she did. When it didn't just downright steal her food, that was.

Watching as the bird fluttered from her hand over to its dinner, she then turned towards her own portion. She didn't exactly feel hungry right now, battling nausea as she was, but she knew better than not to eat anything at all. Just go slowly enough, she told herself. Slowly and carefully, that's it. You'll feel better if you eat at least something than if you skip it entirely.

For a moment, it seemed to be working. She managed to keep herself from getting too nauseous as she carefully took a bit of food at time, bringing it to her mouth and carefully chewing before swallowing. Whenever she felt like gagging, she quickly drank some water to get the taste of the food out of her mouth.

Damn it. At this rate she'd starve to death before anything else happened.

Not that it was actually much of a concern, she thought. She'd already had to cut back on her usual exercise, much to her displeasure; it was all right for her not to eat quite as much as before. Though still, it was annoying that she couldn't even finish a meal without –

Without tasting blood. Now, that wasn't exactly usual.

"Tetsu!" she called out, bringing a hand to her mouth, then above it. Taking off her fingers, she saw them stained red. Definitely blood. Again.

Her right-hand man opened the door to the room almost immediately. "What is it, Kyou-san?" His eyes widened as he saw her bloodied face. "Kyou-san?!"

"Just get me something to wipe this with," she snapped. "No need to look that concerned. It's not like I'll bleed to death from my nose."

"Ah, of course. Right away, Kyou-san!" He rushed off, the concern still evident on his face. The idiot. As though something like this could actually hurt her.

The taste again getting on her lips, she set aside her chopsticks, leaning forward. No sense in getting herself even more sick by leading the blood to run back into her throat. One hand cupped to catch the blood – she didn't want her yukata stained; that was what battle clothes were for – she pinched her nose with the other, hoping it would stop the bleeding. Damn it, anyway.

Tetsu was thankfully back soon, rushing to her side with a small towel. She grasped it with her bloodied hand, bringing it up to her nose. How very irritating.

"Are you feeling all right, Kyou-san?" Tetsu asked, still sounding worried. The spazz.

"I'm quite all right, yes," she replied with a clipped tone. Honestly. If she hadn't needed both her hands right now she would have smacked him over the head. She'd told him there was no need to worry, hadn't she?

"Hibari! Hibari?" Hibird fluttered closer, looking at her questioningly. "Blood. Hibari hurt?"

"Oh, don't you start with it, too." She sighed, shaking her head. "No, I'm not hurt. It's just a nosebleed. It's not like it's the first time, anyway." Annoying though it was, the perfect reminder of her weakening condition that it happened to be.

"Blood," Hibird insisted. "Blood bad."

"It's nothing." The smell of blood certainly wasn't helping with her nausea, she decided. Ugh. Perhaps she should have just skipped dinner after all. Pushing herself up to her feet, she adamantly refused Tetsu's help as she rushed towards the bathroom. If she had gone through all the trouble already not to get any blood on her yukata, she was damn well not going to get any vomit on it, either.

Barely remembering to take the blood-stained towel out of the way as she crouched in front of the toilet, finally allowing the nausea to get the better of her will, she was vaguely aware of Tetsu's hands gathering the hanging strands of hair about her face, pulling them out of the way. Fussing again. She'd told him it was nothing. Too bad she was too busy throwing up to remind him of it right now.

Annoying though the fussing was, she didn't have the energy to complain as Tetsu helped her wipe her face afterwards, getting her a glass of water to get rid of the taste. The nosebleed still hadn't stopped, she noted.

"You should be more careful," Tetsu murmured, remarkably daring considering how she usually treated him when he spouted such nonsense. "You shouldn't keep pushing yourself like this, Kyou-san..."

"I wasn't pushing myself," she spat, trying to concentrate on stopping the bleeding. "I was eating my dinner. I can't exactly take any easier than that, now can I?" She wanted to hit something, anything. Tetsu, as it happened, was the closest thing within reach.

Tetsu didn't seem to mind even as she struck him, his expression never wavering even as he got blood on his clothes from her hand. Somehow, it just worked to irritate her even more. She should have managed to get a reaction out of him, damn it. Frustrated, she kept pounding him, certainly leaving him with bruises but otherwise making no actual damage. Her body was just too exhausted, it seemed, too exhausted and nauseous and bloody well weak.

There was blood on her yukata, she noted, despite her best efforts to the opposite, bright red stains on the fine silk that would turn darker and then brown if left on their own. It wasn't even proper blood splatter, like she might have gotten from a battle. This was just proof of how weak her body was. How weak she was.

She hated this. She hated herself and her body and her weakness. She hadn't even gotten to finish her dinner, damn it.

"Hibari? Hibari sad?" Hibird's weight settled on top of her head.

She didn't even have the energy to disagree.

*

"Any word yet?"

"I'm afraid not, Boss." Romario shook his head. "None of our usual channels seem to reach her. We even tried contacting her through the Foundation, but the only response was that she doesn't want to respond."

Dino sighed, sinking deeper into his seat. He hadn't exactly expected anything else, but it was still quite disappointing. "What'd I do wrong, Romario?"

"That's rather hard for me to know, Boss," his right-hand man replied calmly. "After all, I was hardly present for all of her last, ah, visit." Romario's expression was rather admirably calm, not betraying anything of what he might have been thinking. Good. Dino didn't want to see him laughing at him of all things, and disappointment would have been even worse.

"I've been trying to think, you know," he murmured. "Going through everything I said and did and everything... I mean, I technically know what caused her to leave. I know what got her mad. But usually when she's mad, she always shows up sooner or later... to beat me up if nothing else." This time, there was nothing. No messages, no visits, not anything. It was like Kyou had decided to simply vanish from his life for some reason, except that didn't make any sense. Kyou did disappear at times, but never quite this completely. And if the word back from Foundation indeed was that she was intentionally avoiding him...

"Perhaps she is merely more angry at you than before," Romario suggested. "You said she apparently misunderstood your words about marriage, didn't you? Perhaps she just decided it was a worse offence than your earlier slights."

"But why?" Dino asked. "I mean, she knows I've slept with other women; it's not like we've ever been exclusive to each other or anything. She knows I'll be expected to marry sooner or later, being a don and all. The thought of my getting married to someone else shouldn't make her react quite so extremely."

"Maybe there's more to this than one can see from the surface." His right-hand man adjusted his glasses. "Certainly, if she thought you are planning to marry another, it would presumably signal the end of your relationship."

"As though she would care," Dino murmured somewhat bitterly. "She'd just find someone else insane enough to take her into his bed and only show up to beat me every now and then. That and bitch about whoever I marry being too weak or something." That was certainly the expected response. This... silence... was nothing like he might have expected.

"Maybe you're not quite right about that," Romario actually dared to say. "She might prefer to see herself at your arm."

Dino laughed with a bitter tone. "As if," he said. "Believe me, Romario, that woman never wants to be tied down." Unfortunately. He would have quite liked to tie her to himself, at least, and not necessarily in the kinky way. "Even if I was fortunate enough and that were the case, she would have made it quite clear. Kyou doesn't run from a fight, and seeing me going to another would certainly be a fight in her opinion if she cared at all." He shook his head. "If she wanted to marry me, this kind of disappearance would basically be just giving in to an unknown rival. Kyou wouldn't do anything like that no matter what."

"Well, that appears to be exactly what she has done," Romario pointed out mercilessly. "I wouldn't purpote to understand the way she thinks, but at least it appears clear to me that there is some reason for her behaviour. Whimsical or not, she isn't exactly the type to do something major like this without a good reason."

"It isn't major, though, not really," Dino replied dejectedly. "The business contacts and alliance between us and Foundation are still open. Her avoidance is strictly personal, which means it's for a personal reason, and for the life of mine I can't figure out what that reason could be. There's no reason I can think of that would make her act like this, no matter how she might have interpreted my words."

"In that case, I don't think there is any way you can find to fix the situation, either." Indeed, Romario was merciless and cruel. Even more so for the fact that, as Dino well knew, he was merely telling the truth. "Especially since you cannot seem to contact her so you could manage to clear everything up. It might be for the best for you to stop obsessing over the issue."

"But I love her, Romario." The fool that he was, whining and pining after a woman who obviously wanted nothing to do with him. "I mean... I could handle rejection."

"No you couldn't."

"Fine. No I couldn't, but at least then I'd have something to react to. This just... no. I can't take this, Roma. I can't take her being angry at me when she doesn't have the whole picture. If I had proposed to her then and there and she had bashed my head in for being such an idiotic herbivore, well, I'd have been unhappy but I could have handled that. That would have been... normal, for Kyou anyway. I wouldn't have liked it but at least I'd have tried. But this... she's angry at me, I know as much, but she doesn't have the whole picture. She doesn't know everything I wanted to say or do. It's just unfair that she'd be angry at me under these conditions."

"Life is quite unfair at times, as I've come to understand," Romario replied. "You know Hibari, Boss. She never was the most reasonable of people, and certainly not the easiest to deal with, but she also rarely carries a grudge for too long; she rather prefers to confront her enemies directly. I'm sure that sooner or later she'll decide to show up to make you pay with blood and bruises, and then you can take the chance to explain yourself to her."

"...That almost sounds comforting, even with the blood and bruises." Dino somehow managed a small smile. "Fine... I'll try and be a good boy and wait. You'll still try to contact her, though, won't you?" Just in case she would give in and let him try to explain himself before he acquired any broken bones at her hands.

"Of course, Boss." Romario nodded. Good, reliable Romario.

If only all pieces of his life had been as easy to understand.

*

 

 ****

**II**

 ****

"Ah, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna glanced up from his papers to Gokudera, who had just walked into his office. "Do you still have the plans for the Lavastra mission?"

"Oh, yes. Just a moment, I was just bringing them here for you to look over." Gokudera quickly looked through the thick stack of papers in his hands, finally pulling out one particular stack, placing it on Tsuna's desk. "Here."

"Thanks," Tsuna said, glancing over the plans. He knew them by heart now, and he was sure Gokudera knew them even better than he did. "It's about time to pull it off... meaning I only need to pick someone to actually complete it."

"Oh?" Gokudera raised his eyebrows. "I thought you spoke about this with Hibari. You mean she didn't automatically insist she be given this mission no matter what? I'd have thought it would be right up her alley."

"Actually, no." Tsuna looked seriously at his right-hand man. "Not only did Hibari-san not insist on being given this mission... the fact is, I offered it to her. Thought it'd be exactly what she'd want."

"She... rejected it?" Gokudera frowned, now. "You can't be serious. She'd never turn down a mission like this."

"That's certainly what I thought, too," Tsuna sighed. "But she did. She gave me no excuse, no explanation, nothing. She just informed me she won't take this mission... and went on to tell that she'd not taking any other away missions for a while, either."

"That's just plain weird." Gokudera shook his head. "Hibari loves things like this, sneaking around and getting an excuse to beat up strong people. Even if she doesn't like this particular mission for some reason, why'd she refuse them ahead of time?"

"I just don't know." Tsuna glanced at the mission plan on his desk. "I suppose she might have some grand plan of her own... she never tells me what she's plotting until afterwards, anyway, but at least she usually does tell me if she has one, especially when it comes to rejecting Vongola missions. This time, she just said no."

"Well, it's pretty damn unacceptable," Gokudera snapped. "She's a Vongola Guardian; she should act like one! If she gets a mission, she's damn well doing it. You're the boss, after all."

"Calm down, Gokudera." Tsuna chuckled faintly. "We both know that Hibari-san won't do anything she doesn't want to do. Sure, she's a Guardian, but she's also an ally. Not only I could not force her to do anything against her will, but even if I could it would definitely hurt our relations with the Foundation, and we don't want that. It's for the better to let her do what she wants. I'm sure she has her reasons, even if she isn't telling them to me."

"You mean you're not going to push the issue?" Gokudera raised his eyebrows.

"I doubt it'd change anything." Hibari-san didn't take well to being forced, after all. "It's not like she's the only one who can accomplish this mission, anyway. If she was, I might have been a bit more insistent, but just because she's my first choice doesn't mean she's the only choice."

"I'll call Yamamoto, then." Good, old Gokudera. "The lawnhead can't do stealth if it kills him, and the cow brat is tied up elsewhere, so it'll have to be baseball idiot if we actually want the mission completed successfully."

"Unless, of course," Tsuna said, "you'd like to take it."

Gokudera's eyes widened. "I couldn't do that, Tenth!" he said, sounding shocked. "My place is here at your side!"

"I've seen the look in your eyes when everyone else goes off on missions," Tsuna said with a slightly amused tone. "You're a valuable help, but I wouldn't want you to get overly frustrated by keeping you glued to my side."

"I -- I'm not unhappy being at your side, Boss!" Gokudera protested. "If I've given any such indication, I deeply apologize, I would never even dream off --"

"It's all right. Really, it is," Tsuna replied, lifting a hand to calm him down. "Seriously. I'll be fine for a week or two without you at my side. You haven't taken a vacation in ages, have you? I know this isn't quite the same as actually taking a break, but then if I know you at all, you'll enjoy this more than a proper vacation, anyway." For all that Gokudera was indeed the perfect right-hand man, having really grown into his role over the years, he still had a temper, and not being able to unleash that temper at times would only bring trouble. Sending Gokudera off on a mission would make them all happier in the long run.

"No, Tenth! I mean, yes, Tenth!" He supposed Gokudera didn't even know just how his eyes were shining right now. "I'd be happy to take on the mission, Tenth!"

"I thought you'd be." Tsuna grinned, pushing the plans over his desk. "Here. I'm sure you'll know what to do. And don't worry one bit; we'll be able to handle everything even if you're not looking over my shoulder at every opportunity."

"Ah, I didn't mean to suggest --" Gokudera looked quite flustered, now.

"I know, I know. I never thought you did." Tsuna shook his head. "Just enjoy your mission, Gokudera-kun." He grinned. "If you think you need reinforcements, I'll keep Yamamoto on call."

"Tch. He's the last one I'd need to help me," Gokudera tsked. "I'll complete the mission quickly and efficiently, Tenth! You don't have to worry about a thing!"

"I know I don't." He did trust his right-hand man in that. If nothing else, Gokudera was very reliable in getting things done. Well, he was just all-around reliable, whenever his temper didn't get the better of him.

Gokudera left the rest of the papers with him, vanishing to prepare for his mission. Tsuna's grin died out as he continued to look through the files, Hibari-san's rejection still heavy on his mind. For all that he had reassured Gokudera, he didn't like this. Not because he was mad at Hibari for refusing to take the mission -- like he'd said, she wasn't the only one who could handle it, and it wasn't of the utmost importance anyway -- but because something had to be wrong if Hibari-san did not want this kind of a mission for herself. And if something was wrong with one of his Guardians, he was not happy.

It was probably nothing, though, he decided, trying to banish his worries. It wasn't like Hibari-san would actually let anything trouble her. She was probably just working on some utterly secret little project of hers just so she could surprise them all when she was done. Like wiping out a few famiglias entirely or something equally typical to her.

Going through the papers, he blinked as a letter fell out, closed with the Cavallone seal. He hadn't expected any messages from Dino-san. Wondering what was the matter, especially since in casual matters Dino-san would have just called him, he quickly opened the envelope.

The letter was short but to the point, most respectfully asking whether Don Vongola had any idea what would have caused his Cloud Guardian to cut off all contact with Cavallone and whether there was anything that could be done about the matter.  
Tsuna frowned at the letter. ...Okay, perhaps he did indeed need to worry.

*

Tetsu knocked tentatively on the door of his boss's office. Receiving no order to stay away, he opened the door carefully, one hand balancing a rather full tray.

"Kyou-san? I brought you some tea." Tea and more papers to go through, as it happened, but then he knew she expected that. It wasn't like she ever ran out of work to do, after all.

"...Put it on the table." Kyou-san's voice sounded sleepy, having apparently just woken up. Tetsu hid his smile as he saw her lying on the couch, rubbing her eyes. For some reason, it always felt strangely comforting to see Kyou-san napping in her office. There was just something so very familiar about it, the memory of days long past on the roof of Namimori Middle School perhaps. Of course, the fact that she was usually in a better mood after a nap -- well, less on a bad mood at least -- certainly helped, too. Any reprieve from Kyou-san's worst wrath could only be a good thing.

He busied himself by preparing the tea things as she tried to gather the energy and motivation to actually get up. Due to this, his back was turned to her as he suddenly heard a loud sound. Immediately spinning around, he found Kyou-san lying on the floor next to the couch. "Kyou-san! Are you all right?"

"Yeah." At least she hadn't fainted, Tetsu thought with a vague sense of relief. Looking somewhat irritated, Kyou-san pushed herself into a sitting position. "I lost my footing."

...Okay, that was most definitely concerning. Tetsu frowned. "Should I call the doctor?"

"It's not like it's the first time," Kyou-san murmured, completely ignoring the way Tetsu's eyes widened in shock at this announcement. No, she had most certainly not told him about this before. A part of him wondered if she would have told him at all if she hadn't seen it just now.

"Well, it certainly can't be ordinary!" Tetsu protested. "Definitely not for someone like Kyou-san!"

"It's not like I can exactly fight anymore, anyway," replied his boss, a slight tone of bitterness evident in her voice. "It's nothing. I'll deal with it."

"But, Kyou-san..." He trailed off helplessly, knowing full well that nobody but Kyou-san herself could ever make her change her mind once it was set. She was perhaps the most stubborn creature he had ever come to know, and between first the disciplinary committee and then the world of mafia, he had certainly seen some prize examples of such tendencies. It was one of the traits that made him hope Kyou-san hadn't been quite as strong in everything. Being strong when it came to fighting or resisting pain was one thing. Not letting go of her prior decision when the matter was her health was not exactly as comforting.

"...I have been planning to mention it at my next check-up." Kyou-san gave him a disinterested gaze even as she started practically crawling towards the table. Every bit of Tetsu wanted to rush to her side to help her, but he knew the only thing that lay that way would be pain to himself. "Stop looking like a wounded puppy and get me my tea."

Except he wasn't the wounded one, here, Tetsu thought quietly to himself even as he poured the tea, setting a few of Kyou-san's favourite treats on a plate before moving on to sort through the papers, dividing them into things that needed her immediate attention and those that could wait another bit. Kyou-san was the one who was hurt, the one who was still obviously in pain even as she seated herself at the table, not that she would have ever admitted something like that aloud but Tetsu knew her well enough after all these years to read her that much. She was uncomfortable and in pain and it was only getting worse by each passing day, it would only get worse until it was all over and he didn't even know what he would do then. There was so little he could do right now, anyway, so little he could help her with, so few things he could do to make her feel even a bit more at ease and even fewer that she would actually allow her to do.

Sometimes, he dreamed of walking into her office and finding her collapsed on the floor. Sometimes, he dreamed of walking into her office and not finding any trace of her.

Despite all these distressing thoughts, he forced himself to stay calm, his expression carefully schooled into perfect calmness lest she reprimand him or worse. Kyou-san wouldn't appreciate his concern, he knew as much. She had made it very clear what he was and was not allowed to do, and worrying about her was definitely one of the latter. He couldn't help it sometimes, though, couldn't help the way he found his eyes wandering towards her in concern. Of course he couldn't. She was his boss, and taking care of her well-being was his most basic duty. The fact that she often made that duty as hard to fulfil as humanly possible had nothing to do with it.

Knowing there was no way he could convince her to take his worries seriously, he quietly presented her with the documents as she started enjoying her tea, then moved on to checking her schedule while she looked at the various papers. The schedule was, he noted, much emptier than before. There were no away missions, no direct meetings, nothing that could not be accomplished from the heart of Foundation. She didn't go outside anymore. She couldn't.

Very quietly he wondered whether she would notice if he arranged for her next medical check-up to be sooner than currently scheduled. Realizing that she most certainly would, he then simply wondered if she would let him live after such a transgression.

Looking over to where she sat, her brow furrowed for reasons he wasn't sure had anything to do with the file she was currently reading, he even found himself pondering whether getting her checked again sooner would be worth being beaten within an inch of his life. Certainly, at least she would know just what was going on with her, however horrified he was to think of all the things it might be about.

As soon as she dismissed him from her office, he called her doctor and asked for a rescheduling.

Let it truly be on his head, then.  


*

Had someone asked Kyou just then what she hated the most in the world, being unable to stand up by herself certainly would have scored high on the list.

Oh, of course there were other things, there always were, things like herbivores and loud crowds and Cavallone Dino and bees, but the struggle she had to overcome every time she wanted to simply get out of her chair was still a rather strong contender. Especially since, more often than not, said struggle ended with her calling Tetsu for help.

Tetsu, thankfully, was always quick to respond to the call. She had hardly even got his name out of her lips as he was already at the door, quick as always. "Yes, Kyou-san?"

"Help me up," she said, gritting her teeth as another contraction hit her. Stupid pre-labour. "I'm going to try if walking for a bit helps my insides calm down."

There was a concerned frown on Tetsu's face, but he didn't say anything as he hurried to her side, helping her stand up. He was a very wise man, never saying anything about her swelling body or growing difficulties. He had taken more of an initiative at the time she'd had trouble with her balance, the pressure on the nerves on her back causing her to constantly lose her footing, but other than that he never intruded on her condition any more than necessary by actions or words. Knowing him, she mused wryly, he didn't dare even think in a manner she might not have approved of.

Taking support from her desk to get started, she walked slowly about the room, Tetsu constantly hovering just close enough to catch her if need be but not close enough to be annoying. He knew better than to crowd her, even in such a situation. She was crowded enough as it was, with another person literally under her skin, kicking and hitting and rolling around and just generally making her uncomfortable.

It was Cavallone's fault, she decided for the umpteenth time. Not only was he the one who had impregnanted her, it was because of his stupid seed that the baby was growing far bigger than she would have liked, making her feel like a stranded whale with her stomach. She had managed to keep her swelling midsection somewhat hidden well into the second trimester, but practically the moment she stopped binding it under her clothes it seemed to pop out, messing up her balance and walk and life. Stupid big half-Italian baby most definitely not designed for her little Japanese body.

She ignored Tetsu's fussing, though at least she didn't ask him whether he had anything else to do. As she tired of walking -- when had she ever tired of walking before? -- she still stayed on her feet, arranging papers and documents, shifting a few of the prototype boxes on the shelves, getting herself another cup of tea. Changing her activity level was supposed to make the contractions fade, and the only way she could have lowered it from when she sat all but trapped in her chair would have been to keel over and die.

As it happened, the contractions did not spread out like they were supposed to. Rather, they seemed to come even sooner, she noted, glancing at the clock on the wall the next time she grimaced at the inner abuse of her body, knuckles white as she gripped the edge of her desk, waiting for it to be over. Well, all the better. Perhaps she'd actually get the brat out at some point.

"Kyou-san?" Tetsu hadn't left, not that she'd really expected him to; he spent quite a lot of time in her office instead of his, nowadays, constantly ready to step in if she required assistance. Much though it annoyed her, she had to admit that she did occasionally need him, and as long as he did his work she supposed there was little she could complain about.

Well, except about the stupid doctor who would have wanted to keep her in bed rest. As though she wasn't becoming weak enough as it is.

"It's nothing," she murmured, placing a hand on her stomach. The baby had better calm down if it knew its own best, she pondered, giving Tetsu a thoughtful look. "...Make sure the doctor is on alert," she said. "If this continues, I want him here." False alarm or not, she was not about to give birth on her own. Not to this little giant mauling her insides.

Tetsu actually paled but nodded, not saying anything. Indeed, a wise man.

As it turned out, the doctor arrived not long thereafter, both Tetsu and the doctor himself deciding to be better safe than sorry; they knew all too well what Kyou would have done to them if he hadn't showed up in time. Now that he was there, though, he proceeded to check her, muttering and murmuring something to himself.

"It looks quite likely that you are in early labour," he finally said rather definitively. "If everything goes as expected, you'll have your child in your arms by the end of the day."

"Well, finally," she sighed. "It's certainly taken its time already."

As it appeared, though, simply starting to approach labour did not yet promise a speedy delivery of a child and the return of her body to herself alone. The contractions were growing closer apart and longer every time, but were still not actual labour, at least according to her dear doctor. Nevertheless, he supported the decision of moving from her office to her bedroom, likewise situated within the most hidden corners of the Foundation headquarters. There was no need for anyone else to know about what was going on.

It was, she noted, getting slightly more painful all the time. Oh, she had felt pain before; she'd been cut and hit and crushed and burned and just about every other injury known to man -- or woman -- at some point, but at least those had come from the outside. This pain came from the inside, her own body conspiring to hurt her, and she did not like it one bit.

Tetsu was still hovering about, constantly waiting for either her or the doctor to give him something to do, obviously not liking the fact there was very little he could accomplish at the moment. She almost wished she could have smacked him for obviously trying to make her nervous, but he was too smart to get that close to her whenever she had one of her angrier frowns on her face. Obviously, he knew her too well at this point. Stupid man. Oh, he did get close enough as she needed support, doing her best to keep moving through the contractions as it hurt less than staying still, but if she'd hit him at that point she would have lost her support and that would have been quite counterproductive. She was somewhat tempted, though, when she realized he had hidden all the weapons in her room. Paranoid idiot.

The contractions growing even longer and closer together, her occasional curses grew more sparse. At first she had been grumbling curses and threats directed at Cavallone, Tetsu, the doctor, the baby if it did not get out and soon, her own traitorous body, and just the world at large, but it was getting harder to speak during the peak of contractions. Moving was getting more troublesome too, she noted, her choice of walking through the contractions rather invalidated as her body decided it would not let her do so even between them, not that there was much "between" anymore. It was like her entire body was focusing on the goings-on of her uterus, she mused, taking her mind with itself. She certainly found it hard to concentrate on anything else, and not just because the contractions hurt. She just did not have the energy to focus on much else than getting through the next contraction.

Cavallone, she decided almost idly, was damn well lucky he was nowhere within her reach. She most certainly would have hurt him, trouble moving or not, and she had been informed this was far from the hardest part of the whole process. The bastard would pay for putting her through this, regardless of the fact he wasn't even aware she was pregnant in the first place.

She was in labour, damn it. She wasn't supposed to be rational.

She wasn't sure how long had passed, having long since lost count of the contractions, when her doctor informed her she was, hopefully, getting to the transition phase. This would have been quite more comforting if this hadn't meant long, painful contractions back to back, leaving her just about enough time to draw breath in between, if even that. She found herself shivering uncontrollably, battling against nausea though she was certain there was nothing much left for her to throw up, having lost her appetite quite early in the process. Tetsu courageously stayed by her side, either not bothered by her threats and curses when she managed to find enough breath to spit them out or simply deciding to bear with them anyway.

How difficult could it be to get one child out into the world, anyway?

Though Tetsu and his watch claimed otherwise, she was certain the transition contractions lasted forever. At least they seemed to be without end, she thought bitterly, glaring at the two men who had obviously never gone through this and probably never would. It was all good and well for them to tell her how this was the shortest phase and really she should just -- and whatever else they said was lost to her as her body decided to send another wave of pain through her.

At some point, though, the contractions evened out, settling into a more sparse pattern until suddenly, they seemed to have stopped altogether. She might have gotten worried, had she not been far too relieved at the momentary break from the pain, further reassured by her doctor telling her that this was nothing to worry about, really, this was quite normal and she should just be thankful for the momentary respite. And thankful she was, sinking back into her bed, giving Tetsu a half-hearted glare as he moved to wipe the cold sweat from her face.

The thought of asking for pain medication never even crossed her mind. She wasn't that weak, said a particularly stubborn part of her personality, a part that her body was doubtlessly pouting and glaring at but couldn't make budge.

The momentary relief, however, was all too soon followed by the sudden urge to push. She took this as a good sign, considering that it meant she was heading towards the end. Certainly, she was not looking forward to working the miniature monster of a baby out of her body, but at least after that, it would finally be over and done with. She really wanted this to be over and done with.

It wasn't that bad, anyway, she thought. It seemed to be taking forever, and more than once she was certain the baby had chosen to simply stay inside instead despite her best attempts at the opposite, but at least she got some breaks between the contractions and the doctor kept assuring her that something was happening at least, unlikely though it felt as she kept pushing and pushing without any apparent effect. Certainly, it was painful and draining and uncomfortable, but surely she had gone through worse, and just because it was --

The child apparently decided that everything was going too easily for her despite the pain and exhaustion and the fact that she had probably broken a few of Tetsu's fingers by now, as it now chose to introduce her to the joy of crowning.

She was quite certain, a part of Kyou's mind managed to think through the pain, that she managed to tear herself. She certainly felt like she was getting torn in two, whether or not it was true. She did most certainly not need any reminders to stop pushing. There was no way she would have actively tried to force that sensation any more than necessary.

Somehow, she wasn't entirely certain how it happened, the doctor informed that the head was out. Tetsu at her side was almost amusingly unaffected, had she somehow managed to find any humour in her situation. All she could do was bite her lip until it bled as the baby tried to get its shoulders out next.

Once the shoulders were free, the rest of the baby followed almost too easily. The room was filled with a loud scream as the child first tested its lungs. It didn't make any sense, Kyou thought exhaustedly. Why was the baby screaming and crying? She was the one who should have been doing so.

"It's a boy," the doctor informed her, and some part of her mind perhaps even understood, distracted though she was with the fact that the afterbirth wanted out as well. Surely nobody would require rational thought of her right now. She'd just made another human, for goodness' sake. They couldn't possibly expect her to form a coherent sentence on top of that.

The next time she managed to somewhat gather her thoughts she lay in her newly cleaned bed, exhausted and stitched up and aching, with Tetsu offering her measured, checked, and cleaned son to her. There was a strangely relieved look on Tetsu's face, she noted. A relieved look on his face and splints on his fingers, she noted, though she refused to feel any guilt for it. She was too busy making her baby's acquaintance, thank you very much.

The child, she noted, was incredibly small, certainly smaller than any she had seen before. Smaller than he had felt when she had been pushing him out, she thought wryly even as she carefully settled his light frame into her arms, looking at him.

She had heard all kinds of thing about how you were supposed to feel when you first held your child. She wasn't sure if she was doing any of this right, so to speak. She certainly wasn't convinced that her son was the most beautiful baby in the world; she'd wait until the discoloration settled until making any such judgments, not that it mattered to her anyway. She also wasn't certain whether she felt all gentle and loving towards him, mainly because those were not emotions she generally associated herself with. There was protectiveness there, though, that much she could be sure of, the same protectiveness that had already lifted its head when she had first realized there was another human being growing within her.

It was only natural, wasn't it. Even in nature, be they herbivores or carnivores, animals always protected their young. There was nothing more vicious than a mother protecting her child, and that was certainly what Kyou felt as she looked at her little son. The child was just a little weakling for now, she mused, small and fragile and frail, needing lots of time and care to grow as strong as she was sure he would one day be. It would have been so easy to break him, so easy to hurt and tear and destroy him, yet the mere thought of anyone or anything trying to do that made her anger flare. Anyone who even dreamed of hurting her son would have to go through her -- and they would surely find that she was not an easy obstacle to surpass. As long as she still breathed, nothing was allowed to bring grief to her little son.

"Hello, little thing," she murmured, touching one of his tiny palms with her fingertip. The fingers grasped onto her with a surprisingly strong grip, and she found herself smiling. Oh, yes, he would be strong indeed. "You're a strange little creature, aren't you," she continued, looking at the child's shifting expressions, frown into calmness and back into a frown. "Your father's been trying for years to properly hurt me, and you managed to do better than he ever did before you first drew breath."

Apparently he didn't consider this to be much of an accomplishment, as he seemed rather unaffected by her praise, turning his head towards her with a quiet little whimper. Her breasts certainly seemed to react to the sound if nothing else in her did, reminding her that they had a purpose, damn it, and that purpose was keeping the child from being hungry.

"You still are such a little leech, aren't you." Kyou adjusted her robe slightly, not bothering to even look whether anyone was in the room with them at this point. Both Tetsu and the doctor had seen everything there was to see in her, and besides she had vague memories of a very slimy child being placed on her sweaty chest to nurse. She certainly wasn't about to play coy now that they were both more or less cleaned up. "Still living off my body even after I kicked you out."

Either the boy thought it was his divine right or just wanted her to remember that he was the one who had first decided to come out, thank you very much, since he reacted to the soft scolding with just as much indifference as he had to the praise earlier. All he appeared to be interested in was the promise of food, latching on with surprising strength.

Kyou watched the baby feeding, wondering about the strange feelings that arose within her.

"You need a name, don't you," she remarked, one hand brushing against the slight suggestion of hair on his otherwise bare head even as her other arm held him on her breast. "I can't just always call you thing or you. It's just not proper." Not that he seemed to care that he was still nameless, quite happily concentrating on her more materialistic offerings.

She had thought about names before, of course, not with the single-minded obsession some expectant mothers seemed to take onto the issue but certainly more than just passing thoughts over the duration of her pregnancy, but all of a sudden, all the ideas seemed to completely flee her mind. She couldn't remember what names she had considered, what she had thought about them, not even which ones she had decided she would never under the pain of death give to her firstborn son. She decided to blame it on the pain and exhaustion of the birth. Certainly she couldn't be blamed if such an effort had taken its toll on her mental capacities, not just physical ones.

The child seemed to feed for ages yet she got the feeling he really hadn't eaten that much, a soft little burp escaping his mouth as he finally gave up, almost immediately falling into a slight slumber without as much as a gasp. Covering herself again, Kyou looked at the silently sleeping child. Despite all the complications surrounding his birth, he seemed entirely unaware of the world he lived in, the world and the people in it and all the shadows lurking about their lives. He'd grow to know all about it, certainly, he'd grow to know all the shadows and secrets and how to best navigate them, but for now, he was blissfully ignorant, caring about nothing but the milk in his little stomach and the warmth of his mother's body right next to him.

"Still so pure," she murmured, brushing her hand against his cheek with gentleness she hadn't even known she possessed. "So pure... Kiyoshi." It seemed right, certainly, the moment she said the name aloud she knew it was right, it was the exact name her baby needed and that was it. She didn't have to think any further, didn't need to reconsider or ponder other opinions. It was his name, after all.

Giving him a tired smile that for once held no trace of a smirk or deviousness or schemes or bloodlust, she whispered, "Welcome to the world, then, Hibari Kiyoshi."

Kiyoshi. Her son. Her little baby whom nobody else would ever be allowed to touch with malicious intent.

"Nobody will ever hurt you as long as I am here." She chuckled. "And I have no intention of abandoning you any time soon."

Her son.

*

It was, Tetsu found, almost eerily quiet. Of course, it was rare that any sounds from the outside reached them here on the deepest levels of the headquarters, but somehow, the silence seemed even more complete now that it was in such a clear contrast with the events of earlier in the day. The doctor had finally left, promising to be back the following day to check up on both the mother and the child, leaving Tetsu alone to watch over them.

He was quite exhausted, but didn't allow himself to go to sleep just yet. Certainly, they were well in the wee hours of the morning, but then he was quite certain Kyou-san was much more tired than he was. Someone needed to be awake enough to hear if the child decided to wake up, and he was rather certain she was currently too tired to be shaken awake just by the sound of a crying child.

Making sure not to cause any noise, he paused at the doorway of Kyou-san's room. It was bathed in a soft light from the end of the crib. There was a decorative pattern there, seven stones embedded into the headboard, each a subtly different shade of the rainbow. Three of them cast a soft glow into the otherwise shadowed room.

It was just like Kyou-san, he thought, to use the latest products of their research as simple night lights for her child. Night lights, and a quiet answer to their earlier ponderings about the child's flame. He was certainly too young to even understand the purpose of rings, or indeed what a ring was, but he was not too young to make the indicator stones react to him.

Purple, indigo, orange. When Kyou-san had set up the crib, well in time to welcome the child even if he happened to decide to come early, only two of them had been shining. Now the sky stone had decided to join them, casting its soft light over the child.

It was, Tetsu thought, perhaps not the best thing. A sky flame was rare, and certainly ran strong in families. If Kyou-san was going to insist on keeping the child's parentage secret forever, they'd have to do quite some explaining as to where he would have gained his flame from. There were only two sky bearers she was in frequent contact with, after all, and with both being dons and one of them quite happily married, neither was going to be an ideal candidate. Even if one of them happened to be the real father.

He walked slowly closer, looking down at the slumbering child. Kyou-san had reached her hand towards the crib, resting at the edge, just close enough to light the other two stones with her presence. She looked exhausted even in her sleep, but then he supposed she had every right to, after what she'd been through. It was most certainly not easy to bring a child to the world, as he had noticed, not that he could truly know the pain of it. He'd seen her going through it, though, and for all that he had not been able to help her in her pain, he wasn't going to claim it had been easy for him, either.

He was her right-hand man. He was supposed to protect her, not that she needed his protection. He knew without a doubt that she was stronger than he was, stronger than he ever would be, but that didn't mean it was easy for him to simply stand by and see her suffer, unable to do anything about it except let her crush his hand in hers. For all that he was used to following orders and always being the second, he did have his pride, and being so utterly helpless to do anything at all had been quite a blow to his pride. His pride, and other feelings he might or might not have harboured.

Kyou-san, he noted, looked quite beautiful despite her harried state, the stones on the crib painting her pale skin flickering shades of orange and purple and indigo. Then, she always looked beautiful, even in the middle of battle, painted in blood and sweat. Kyou-san was just wonderful like that.

Oh, he knew perfectly well how useless his attraction was. She saw him strictly as a subordinate, and would have probably killed him had he ever given any indication that he saw her as anything but his boss. For all that she perhaps didn't want to admit it even to herself, her heart was quite attached elsewhere, and just because she was determined to make an end of that attraction didn't mean she would be open for anything else. Not that it mattered, anyway. He would follow her no matter what happened, regardless of whether she went back to Cavallone or not, and if she did he would be happy for her and congratulate her and duck in time before she could hit him.

For now, though, Cavallone wasn't here. He was the luckiest man on Earth and he didn't even know, didn't know about this perfect little child and the pain this perfect woman had gone through to bring him to this world, Cavallone knew nothing about this but for all that Kyou-san said otherwise Tetsu was quite confident he would find out eventually. Cavallone was persistent like that. It was one of the reasons Kyou-san liked him. He'd find out, one way or another, and if Tetsu knew anything about his boss and her lover, their eventual clash would end in a reunion because there was just no way anything could keep Kyou-san forever away from something she wanted as much as she wanted Cavallone Dino.

Until then, Tetsu would be there. He would be there, standing guard beside the crib holding the precious, precious child, standing guard beside the woman who even in her exhaustion and pain was stronger than anyone else he had ever met, looking over them both and protecting them whether they needed it or not and following them to the ends of the Earth if need be because he didn't exactly have a choice.

Kyou-san wasn't his. She never would be. She didn't belong to anyone, or if she did it was to Cavallone even though she would have never admitted it, and least of all she belonged to Tetsu. However, he knew that he would do everything he could to protect both her and her child nevertheless. He was her right-hand man, after all. He would stand beside her no matter what.

A fourth stone on the crib flickered to life as he stood close enough, reacting to his flame. The child blinked as the tone of the light changed ever so slightly, shifting in his sleep, the smallest, smallest little human Tetsu had ever seen before, and yet he'd caused such pain to Kyou-san, who could never be hurt by anything small and insignificant. So weak, yet he was so important to Kyou-san, who never cared about anything that was weak. It was, he decided, quite strange.

Quite strange, how he could feel so determined to protect something that wasn't even his.

*

"Boss?" Gokudera looking into Tsuna's office. "Video call for you on your computer."

"Is it important?" Tsuna sighed, shifting through his papers. There seemed to be no end for them... "I'm kind of busy right now."

"It was the Foundation signal, Boss."

That certainly caught Tsuna's attention. It had been a while since he had heard anything from Hibari-san. "Let it through." If Hibari-san actually bothered to call him over the secured video line, it had to be important.

Gokudera nodded and disappeared from the doorway. A moment later, Tsuna's before rather empty computer screen suddenly came to life, the image of his Cloud Guardian filling the screen in place of the various charts he was supposed to understand.

His usual greeting died on Tsuna's lips as he saw Hibari-san. She was even paler than usual, and looked absolutely exhausted. However, she didn't seem too startled by the lack of formalities, simply saying with a clipped tone, "I have news for you, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Tsuna raised his eyebrows. Now, wasn't that interesting. He could occasionally be somewhat oblivious, but he most certainly wasn't stupid, at least not when it came to things other than schoolbooks and math problems. He also had his intuition to help the way. He'd last seen his Cloud Guardian several months ago, and back then he had already sensed there was something off with her. She had avoided contact even more than usual since then, only ever getting in touch through phone calls or Kusakabe, offering neither explanations nor excuses. That alone wouldn't have been worrying, given her usual nature, but her adamant refusal to go out on missions, again without any explanation, had set off certain warning bells in Tsuna's head. And now she was contacting him, telling she had news, looking like that...

There were several conclusions he could have drawn from all this. A horrible, debilitating disease, for one. However, his instincts told him otherwise, and if he had learned nothing else over the years, at least he knew to trust his instincts no matter what.

A slight smile touched his lips. "Is it a girl or a boy?"

If Hibari-san was surprised, she never let it show. Instead, her lips curved ever so slightly into one of her familiar smirks. "A boy," she replied, her voice surprisingly soft. "By the name of Hibari Kiyoshi."

"Congratulations," Tsuna said, and meant it. It was hard to suddenly wrap his head around the thought, he had never gotten any advance warning after all, but then he supposed Hibari-san had never done anything the usual way. "Who is the father?" ...At least she couldn't kill him over the connection for daring to ask, now could she?

For a moment, she was quiet, an unreadable look on her face. Then, she replied, with a cold tone, "Nobody you should concern yourself with, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"I understand." Or not, as it happened, but he supposed this was the most he was going to get out of Hibari-san. "I hope he arrived safely?"

"He's healthy and well, as am I," Hibari-san replied, not that she looked very healthy or well. "I will return to missions once I have recovered, though I will not be embarking on any longer trips any time soon."

"Take your time," Tsuna said. "Your child needs you more than any of us." He was perhaps a mafia boss, only slowly easing into his role but nevertheless, but he did have his principles and he held onto them. He would not, under any circumstances, tear a mother from her newborn child no matter how much he might have needed her.

"You are an herbivore, Sawada Tsunayoshi." It was probably due to her apparent exhaustion, but her voice wasn't quite as sharp as he was accustomed to hearing from her. "I need you to do two things for me."

Tsuna merely nodded, having expected as much. She wouldn't have bothered to call just to share the news of her son's birth.

"First off, you are not to tell anyone about this." As Tsuna started to protest, she cut him off, "Not anyone. Not even your other guardians. I'm keeping this under wraps at least until I have fully recovered, and I'm not going to have any of you herbivores jeopardizing either of our safety by blabbering about. There are currently five people who even knew I was pregnant, myself and you included."

Tsuna nodded, not exactly liking it, but then it was her own business who she wanted to tell and when. "And the other thing?" Which was, he guessed, the more important one. After all, she could have accomplished the first one simply by never telling him.

"...As I said, I'm going to keep him hidden," Hibari-san said. "That includes keeping him out of the sight of even most of the Foundation, in one of the hidden parts of the complex. Therefore, if something should happen to both Tetsu and myself... I need someone outside aware of him so he won't just starve out of sight."

Tsuna had seen many things in his life, but at that mental image he couldn't help but swallow uncomfortably. "That's... a rather morbid image."

"Merely realistic." Hibari-san looked at him sharply. "Do you understand, Sawada Tsunayoshi?"

Now, he managed to nod again. "I understand," he replied. "If anything happens to you and Kusakabe-san, I will make sure your son is found and taken care of without delay."

"Good." And that was it. She didn't want any guarantees, no reassurances from him; if he told her he would do it, she was going to hold him onto his word. He wasn't sure whether he should have been glad that she apparently trusted him to such an extent or concerned that she appeared almost nonchalant about her child's fate in an absolute worst case scenario.

"I hope everything goes well," he managed to say just before she cut off the connection.

For a long time, Tsuna stared at the screen, despite the fact that her image had long since disappeared. Then, he sighed, turning back to the documents he had to go over.

Hibari-san would be all right in the end. She always was.

He'd just have to believe that.

*

 ****

**III**

 ****

Why couldn't he contact the Tenth?

This was, Gokudera decided, the most frustrating question perhaps ever. He knew well that his boss could not always be contacted every minute of every day, a fact he accepted. Even a mafia boss needed some away time sometimes, and the anniversary of his marriage was certainly an important enough occasion. There wasn't supposed to be anything special going on, so Tsuna had decided to take some time off like a good husband, taking his wife on a vacation that she had definitely earned, playing the role of a mafia wife for all this time. Not that Gokudera wanted to deny them that, oh no. He knew well enough that the two definitely needed this, he knew they had both earned it, he knew they couldn't really relax if at any moment they might be interrupted by a call from the headquarters. At least they'd agreed to take some men with them to make sure they were safe. Really, it was all Gokudera could ask. He should have had nothing to complain about.

Except something had most definitely happened, and he needed to get in touch with the Tenth right away, and it was turning out to be impossible.

He wasn't worried about his boss, no. He knew that Tsuna was all right with all his guards, and probably more capable of defending himself and his wife than the guards combined, anyway. However, he needed his opinion and orders and knowledge, right away, and he could not get them because he could not contact him, and it was getting increasingly more frustrating.

"What do we --" started someone to say, at which Gokudera immediately barked, "Get everyone you can catch!" This sent people scurrying about, at least trying to make themselves look busy lest they catch the full weight of his wrath even if they didn't exactly have anything to do. Hopefully at least one or two of them would have enough initiative to actually accomplish something useful. It was just about his only hope at the moment.

Ah, well. If the Tenth was away, then his right-hand man had to take the reins and worry about informing him later. If ever had they needed quick actions, now was the time.

Granted, he didn't have the full picture of the situation. All he had was a rushed call he had received earlier, the unusually distressed voice of Hibari at the other end, informing him that there was an attack to the Foundation base and would he please send some reinforcements right away before Hibari got out and came and ripped out his... something. He wasn't entirely sure what the threat to his health and life had been because the call had been cut off, and he had been unable to call her back since.

Fuck it anyway. He should have seen this coming.

The fact was, Foundation was the weak link in the alliance. They should have known as much. Not that he was criticizing Hibari's little enterprise, oh no; it was most certainly useful, and he knew that her men were some of the strongest fighters and most loyal followers one could find in the mafia world. However, the fact remained that Foundation dealt in information, not war. For all that they were all accomplished fighters, they were not prepared in the event of a full-out attack, simply because they had never expected one. There was no conceivable reason for anyone to suddenly strike, after all. Certainly, their headquarters were shielded from curious eyes, just like all their bases around the world, but it was only the shield of illusion and not the tall walls and well-armed guards Gokudera would have preferred. Once those illusions were torn down, the Foundation base was merely another building complex, not the well-fortified haven that Vongola's main base was. At that point, the only defence that stood between the heart of Foundation and the world were its men.

And, good fighters or not, they were apparently running out.

Gokudera cursed. The Foundation base was not very far, so technically they were the closest ally, which was doubtlessly why Hibari had called him directly instead of sending a general distress signal. However, right now they only had the minimum of men at the headquarters, everyone else spread out on various missions, a good number out protecting the Tenth on his trip. He could collect more men, obviously, but it would take time. And time was something they did not necessarily have.

Fortunately, he thought wryly, Hibari knew better than to only keep one ally. Foundation was an important asset to everyone in their network, and that meant others would be just as willing to defend them as Vongola. Especially a certain lovesick blonde.

Sticking the phone in his pocket -- he needed to keep the line free in case Hibari managed another call -- he dug out another, quickly choosing one of his speed dials. Sometimes, he mused, it was useful to have personal contacts among the upper brass of the mafia instead of simple business contacts. Had it been an official line, he would have had to go through three men at least; now, he could almost guarantee that the person he was calling would pick up personally.

"Hayato?" Indeed, Dino's voice immediately responded. "Is something up? You don't usually call from this number unless something's wrong." Oh, yes, their patterns of thought and action were well rehearsed at this point.

"Bucking Horse," Gokudera practically barked into his phone even as he looked over the schemes of the locations of their allies as well as their own troops. "Are our reports on your location correct?"

He could practically hear the raised eyebrows at the other end of the line. Certainly, everyone kept an eye on everyone else, it was just basic procedure, but to actually come out and say it so harshly was generall considered to be bad manners. After all, few people liked to be reminded that they lived in a world of schemes and conspiracies, however true it might have been. "And what would you mean by that?"

"Because if you are where we currently have pinpointed you," Gokudera replied, "you are the closest allied force we can contact. Our men are currently on the way, but we only have the basic guard of the headquarters; we'll need more if we wish to make any difference in the battle."

"Battle?" Dino's voice was immediately more alert. "A battle? Where?"

"Foundation," Gokudera replied gravely. "I received a distress call from your little girlfriend a moment ago, but it was cut off. From what I gathered they are under heavy attack, and they can't hold on forever."

Had the situation been calmer, he might have noted that Dino never even protested at his having called Hibari his girlfriend. As it was, he was practically running on adrenaline as he quickly dashed to and fro, mouthing and gesturing instructions to his own men even as he waited for Dino's response. "Got it," it came soon, the usually jovial don's voice suddenly very cold. "We're on our way. If you can contact them again, let them know."

"Good. I'll meet you there shortly." He ended the call, not about to waste time for niceties they both knew they did not have the time for. Nothing wasteful. Nothing unnecessary. All that mattered was getting every last man on the move and towards the Foundation base before it was too late.

Why, oh, why couldn't he contact the Tenth?

*

"Boss!" Romario's voice called out to him, clear even above the sounds of the ongoing battle. "Boss, we've secured the way to lower levels!"

"Good!" His whip taking down another enemy, he rushed through the heat of battle towards the approximate direction of his second-in-command. "Any luck in locating the two of them yet?"

"We located Kusakabe's signal on the third level," came the report immediately. "Still no word on Hibari-san, but if anyone, Kusakabe is going to know."

"Indeed," Dino agreed, stubbornly refusing to let his fears raise their ugly head. Kyou wouldn't let herself be brought down that easily. She was better than that. No way had this rabble managed to kill him, and if she was anything short of dead, she would bounce right back in a couple of months at the latest. She always did. She was just that amazing.

Didn't mean that the fear gripped his heart any less viciously as he fought his way through another wave of attackers, working to reach the lower levels. Kyou would be there, he was certain, close to the most sensitive parts of the building complex. She would personally guard Foundation's secrets if need be.

His whip knocking off another weapon from an enemy, closely followed by an expert shot from Romario to finish the poor bastard, he kept himself focused on one goal. Find Kyou. Find Kyou, and everything will be all right, one way or another.

He couldn't afford to think anything else.

The elevators, he discovered, were not functional at the moment; thankfully, Kyou wasn't an idiot, and there were indeed stairs to each level, now guarded by Cavallone men. They each nodded at Dino as he and Romario rushed by, running two or three stairs at a time. It was just asking for trouble, he thought wryly, but then there were certainly enough of his men around to counter any amount of his usual clumsiness. And even if there hadn't been, well, he'd fallen down enough stairs in his life that one more time wouldn't kill him. Not when he needed to find Kyou.

They reached third level soon enough, running right out of the stairway. The battle had moved on from the doorways after they had secured the stairwell, deeper into the complex maze of hallways and rooms that made up the Foundation headquarters, research laboratories and storage rooms and training halls and living quarters and everything else needed to run Kyou's dream. Glancing at Romario and simply receiving a nod in return, he ran off to join the sounds of battle further down the hallway.

Kusakabe, it turned out, was easy enough to find, making quite a racket as he protected the base against the intruders. It was quite the last moment, too, Dino noted grimly as he rushed forward just in time to block a box weapon directed at Kyou's right-hand man. Kusakabe appeared badly injured, not that he would ever let it stop himself, of course.

Apparently more men had followed him than just Romario, quickly spreading out and taking control of the situation until all the reports reaching him confirmed that the third level was in friendly hands at last. Nodding in satisfaction, he then quickly called for medics to take care of any injured, starting with Kusakabe. The poor man really had taken damage.

Of course, Dino hardly had time to pity him right now. "Kyou?" he asked frantically as soon as there was a momentary break. "Where's Kyou? You must know where she is!" Of course he would know. He was her right-hand man. Right-hand men always knew everything important.

"...Deepest levels," Kusakabe managed to get out, gasping with pain. "She... headed there... needed to check... most important..." He was apparently trying to get up, only for the medics to push him back down.

"Okay." Dino nodded. "That's enough. We'll find her, promise. You just lie back now. It's our turn."

"You must –" Kusakabe started, then fell silent again as the pain took over. Dino gave him one last glance before rushing towards the stairs.

Deepest levels. Kyou would be there.

After some more frantic running down the stairs, he reached the end of the stairwell. A heavily locked door led to the generators and other such maintenance things, while another went into the more public part of the floor. He asked the men guarding it for a report, only to be disappointed.

"We don't know what's going on there, Boss," one of them said. "We haven't been able to open the door; it's barricaded from the inside. There haven't been any sounds from the inside, though."

"Well, we need to get inside, now," Dino said grimly. Barricaded from the inside... was a good thing, actually. If the level had been in enemy hands, they wouldn't have blocked their only way out and towards reinforcements. It was reassuring... but he needed to check. If Kyou was there – if Kyou was all right – she wouldn't have hidden from battle. Kyou never hid from battle, after all. Not if she had a choice.

It didn't take too long to summon some storm-users who practically just blasted the door away. The moment the doorway was open, Dino rushed in, whip at ready to face any adversity he might meet.

All he found was perfect silence and dented, blood-splattered walls.

Dread slowly creeping inside him, Dino forced himself to rush deeper into the lowest level. There were no sounds except several frantic footsteps on the floor as he ran forward, followed by his men. Having no other way to navigate, he simply followed the way of the most destruction. All too often, that was the best way to find Kyou.

Finally, he rushed into another hallway, only to be greeted with the sight of a heap of enemy combatants, all piled up, none moving. Forcing himself to ignore any disgust or nausea that might have hit him as he climbed over the obstacle, he almost idly noted the huge piercing wounds in each of them. Spikes. Kyou. He was on the right track.

Then he glanced further down the hallway and saw one lonely form collapsed away from the rest.

It was Kyou. He could already recognize her from a distance. There was just nobody else who could catch his eyes even bloodied and broken as she was, lying on the floor, half leaning against a wall. Her precious tonfas lay discarded beside her, wrenching Dino's heart as he imagined the horrors she might have faced. Surely, she couldn't be quite lost already, he told himself quietly. Surely, she wouldn't have given in like that.

Not caring about the bodies that tried to get underfoot -- they were all enemies anyway; they hardly mattered in a situation like this -- he ran quickly down the hallway, uncaring about the voices of his underlings shouting for him. All that mattered right now was getting to Kyou, getting to her and making sure she was alive and getting her some proper care. Only after she had been taken care of could he finally feel somewhat at peace.

He didn't allow himself to even entertain the possibility that she could not be helped anymore.

As he got closer, he realized the scene was even more gruesome than he had initially thought. What he hadn't noticed as he ran but what was now immediately obvious was the trail of blood following her from where her slain enemies lay, apparently for a large part hers, judging by the wounds. He couldn't even begin to make an accurate estimate, he was hardly trained in medicine aside from some vague experience from first aid, but he knew enough to tell that she had been hurt and badly. Her clothes torn, she practically lay in a puddle of blood, some crude bandages she had apparently torn from her own clothes only barely able to stop the worst of the bleeding.

Crouching down, he fearfully set his hand on her neck, seeking a pulse. As he found one, weak though it was, he breathed a deep sigh of relief, then turned towards where his men were hurrying towards him. "Get a medic here, and quick!" he called. "She needs help immediately!"

Romario immediately started barking orders, good old reliable Romario, allowing Dino to concentrate on the scene. There was something off here, he knew as much. Kyou never did anything needlessly, not without a reason. Given her condition, there was no conceivable reason why she would have dragged herself so far along an apparently empty hallway after the battle. Certainly, she could be stubborn at times, and refuse to acknowledge her injuries, but she also knew better than to waste her energy when she was obviously badly hurt. He couldn't quite understand why she would have made such an effort to get away from already beaten enemies. The next door he could see in the hallway was quite some ways from her, and the direction she had headed towards had been deeper into the base. Any enemies that might have showed up would have been in the opposite direction... and he knew Kyou would have never run from battle if she had any other choice.

Shifting his feet a bit, he heard something crackling underfoot. Looking closer, he realized there were tiny shards scattered about on the bloodied floor, some glinting in light where they were not entirely stained with blood. Picking one up, he turned it in his fingers, then polished it on the hem of his shirt before bringing it up against the light, peering into it. It shone with a faint indigo tone.

A mist stone. A shattered mist stone, and, judging by the shards, a ring to go with it. Kyou had used a mist ring -- or attempted to use one, anyway. There was no way of telling whether she had actually succeeded or whether the ring had failed her. She didn't appear to have any more on her, certainly not any he could readily see.

Someone else had reached his side, shifting the unconscious woman away from him, careful not to aggravate her wounds. As they did so, however, he realized something else.

There was a message on the wall, previously half hidden behind Kyou's collapsed form. It had been scrawled on the wall with blood. Kyuo's blood. Someone -- most probably herself, it wouldn't have made any sense otherwise, given the situation they'd found -- had decided a message was important enough to be written on the wall in her blood.

There were a few Japanese characters, he noted, ignoring them at first. Underneath, though, he found an all too understandable message, written in Italian, perfectly clear and correct. Had the situation been anything else, he might have felt vaguely impressed; Kyou rarely made a show of her language skills, preferring to use Japanese whenever she could get away with it, but that didn't mean she hadn't mastered any other forms of communication. Right now, though, Dino could only stare at the words, mouthing them to himself.

"Save my treasure."

What treasure? Kyou's? But what could it be? Certainly, if she had thought it important enough to leave a note of it, she had considered it something extremely important. Moreover, as he now began to suspect, this so-called treasure would have been the reason she had forced herself to escape from her slain enemies, trying to get somewhere else but not quite making it that far. But then what...

"Boss." Romario stood by his side, sounding serious. "Boss, the Japanese..."

"...Ah." Dino nodded. It was simple hiragana, easy enough for him to read after his years of dealing with the mostly Japanese current Vongola generation. It was somewhat unusual, he noted, as usually names were written in kanji as possible, and this was definitely a name. "Rokudo Mukuro... wonder what that means."

"Could she have been indicting him on the attack?"

"Impossible," Dino murmured. "If that were the case, she wouldn't bothered to try to conceal it in such a manner since Mukuro himself would have been able to read it, and the line about treasure would make no sense. Besides, not only does Tsuna trust him immensely, but he is nowhere nearby. There must be some other meaning to it."

"Then what meaning would that be, Boss?"

"...Something quite simple." Simple enough that he did now understand why she would have hidden the name in hiragana. That meant that only someone with at least a rudimentary knowledge of Japanese -- much more likely in an ally than an enemy -- would be able to decipher the name, which in today's mafia carried quite obvious implications.

Rokudo Mukuro, and the indigo shards scattered around Kyou's collapsed form... both indicated illusions.

"Get a mist user here," he said curtly. "Someone strong enough to notice an illusion. Preferably able to break a powerful one, too. I think this hallway may not be quite as empty as we thought."

Romario nodded, not bothering to question him; either his right-hand man had come to the same conclusion as he had, or he simply believed that Dino himself had made the right conclusions. Whichever was the case, his right-hand man immediately sent for an illusionist to be brought to them. The best, he reminded, Dino himself nodding approvingly. Of course it had to be the best. Otherwise they would have no hope of undoing whatever it was Kyou had set up to protect her mysterious treasure.

Looking after where she was quickly carried away, the men in charge of her careful not to jostle her around, he wondered whether she had been trying to set up an illusion… or break one.

Romario probably noted his distraction, but didn’t say anything, not even as Dino refused to advance further into the base for the moment. He wanted, no, needed to solve this mystery before he could advance. Whatever the hidden treasure was, it had been important enough for Kyou to practically risk her own life in an attempt to save it from destruction, and therefore he would do his best to answer her plea. He did owe her at least much.

An image of her fallen form filled his mind, all too easily summoned as he stood in the stench of her blood, and he felt vaguely sick as he realized that their brief reunion might still turn into a farewell.

Thankfully, the men Romario had sent off on this new errand didn’t dally too much, and soon arrived with the best of the best. Chrome Dokuro seemed a bit hesitant, but was determined enough as she approached Dino and Romario. “Ah… they said you needed me.”

“It’s more like Kyou needed you,” Dino replied, indicating the message on the wall. The young woman appeared a bit startled as she saw the rather macabre note, but he refused to feel guilty for startling her. She was an adult and in the mafia. If she wasn’t used to dealing with the sight of blood yet, she’d better learn. “I believe there’s an illusion somewhere near here that’s hiding this treasure of hers. You should be able to find it.”

“Ah… right.” She nodded, looking rather determined. Summoning up her box, she quickly transformed it into the lens that allowed her to see through anything. Nary a glance down the hallway, and she gasped. “Here,” she murmured, quickly walking to a place not too far from where Kyou had just managed to drag herself, her hand hovering over what to Dino seemed like perfectly normal wall. “There’s a door hidden here… someone’s tried to take down the illusion recently, but I think they failed.”

“That would be Kyou, then,” Dino murmured, glancing down at the shattered mist shards. “Could you please take it down for us?”

Again, Chrome nodded, starting… whatever it was that mist users did to break down what another one of them had painstakingly set up. Dino himself had no personal experience on such things, and the only mist user he actually knew personally, Kyou, had never been particularly eager to discuss such things, reluctant as she was to admit that she was capable even of the most rudimentary of illusion manipulations. Therefore, all he could do was watch as to his eyes nothing happened, hoping to see a difference at some point.

As it happened, it certainly was obvious enough, the entire illusion wavering out of existence. Where just moments before he had seen mere blank wall, undented by the battle that had never reached it, was now a door, similar to the other ones along the hallway except secured with a combination lock. Murmuring his quick thanks to the Vongola illusionist, Dino walked up to the door. Without even trying he knew it would most likely be locked, but he did try anyway. It was.

“You want us to break it down, boss?” Romario asked from his side. Dino, however, shook his head.

“We don’t know what’s on the other side. Could be something fragile,” he said. “Before we try that, I’m going to at least try this one thing…”

It was, he admitted, just a hunch. However, considering the door itself had been hidden behind illusions, he figured it was worth a try at least before they went and broke the door down by force. Quickly, he tapped four digits into the lock. Kyou's birthday. Children's day, as he had been told.

The door opened, perfectly silent as it slid past his eyes.

Dino wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting. Some form of a storeroom, perhaps, or a vault for Foundation's deepest secrets, or some form of prototypes that could not be allowed into wrong hands. What he found behind the door, though, was what seemed like a perfectly normal, dimly lit room. The space before him was only faintly illuminated by a soft, orange-tinted light from the other end of the room. It wasn't enough to do much except cast some shadows, though, so his hand sought a light switch on the wall.

As the lights were switched on, his eyes widened. Yes, it was a perfectly normal room. However, everything from the light-coloured walls to the choice of furniture spoke of a very specific purpose for this particular room. A dresser. A changing table. A crib.

This was, against all the odds, a nursery.

Dino swallowed as he stepped further into the room. It was perfectly quiet in the room. Almost too quiet, a cruel little voice in the back of his mind claimed. Perhaps they had come too late. Perhaps they hadn't broken the illusion quick enough. Perhaps they simply hadn't been the first ones to do so.

Almost fearfully, he walked up to the crib, the voice in his mind telling him to be afraid of what he might see. However, as he finally gathered his courage to look into the crib, all he found was a peacefully sleeping child, one who couldn't have been more than a few months old. There were traces of tears on the little face, and a little pout on his lips, but as he reached a hand down to touch the small face the child instinctively turned a bit, clearly alive and unharmed aside from having been left without care for some time.

Better safe than sorry, though. "Romario," he said with a low tone so as not to wake up the child, looking over his shoulder at his right-hand man who had followed him into the room, "get someone absolutely trustworthy to check the baby and take care of it until we clear up the situation." Romario merely nodded, a look of grim determination on his face as he walked up to the crib to carefully pick up the slumbering child. There was a touch of tenderness to his expression as he hurried out of the room with the child on his arm. Dino looked after them for a minute before taking another glance around the room. Perhaps, he thought, he might find some explanation as to the presence of the child.

Though he had not been sure what he was looking for, it seemed almost a little too convenient to find a sealed letter with his name on it on top of the dresser, obviously in plain view. Whoever had left it – Kyou, judging by the handwriting – had obviously wanted it to be found should anyone else enter the room. Quickly breaking the seal, untouched as he noted, he hoped to find some clarity to the situation.

"Dino," he read quietly to himself,

"Clichéd though it may be to begin a letter in this manner, if you are reading this, I am either dead or otherwise unable to care for my child. Therefore, much though it pains me, I feel it necessary to bring you this message.

Congratulations, you are a father.

The child's name is Hibari Kiyoshi, born on the third of April, just past midnight. Far as I have been able to determine, he has your Sky flame and my Cloud. A copy of his medical records, as well as the records of my health check-ups during pregnancy, are kept in my house in Namimori, should they become necessary.

I'm well aware of your position as a mafia boss, as well as what this means in terms of your ability to actually acknowledge a child as yours. Therefore, whatever the custom regarding parental responsibility may be, I am not asking you to care for the child. I merely plead that you, in my absence, will see to it that someone trustworthy will protect and provide for our son. You need not worry about the situation coming up later; at the time of writing this letter, only Tetsu and myself are aware of his heritage, and I have no plans to make anyone else privy to the truth. Therefore, I hope that you do not see him as a threat to your reputation or the security of your family line but as one last favour you may do to me.

You once told me I could ask you for anything. I never did before, but I now plead you for this one thing.

Chances are I have died for our son. For my sake, let him live.

–Hibari Kyou"

It wasn't until one of his men came somewhat hesitantly up to him, shaking his shoulder, that he realized he had been staring at the letter for an awfully long time. Then his mind started again working, however momentarily, though he still found himself struggling to take in all this information.

Kyou... had been pregnant with his child. She had been pregnant, and she had chosen to keep the child and give birth to it, and she had hidden the child from him. While she didn't give any explicit reasons for keeping him in the dark in the letter, it appeared clear that she had feared he would have opposed her decision. How much easier, indeed, would it have been to get rid of an unborn child than one who had already been born, and yet she appeared to think it entirely plausible that he would still have the child killed for no other crime than being his and illegitimate.

Swallowing, he held the letter tightly in his hands, his knuckles white from the tension. What had he done to give her such a bleak view of himself?

And, more importantly, how could he ever hope to rectify such a grave error?

"Boss?"

He hadn't even realized that he'd been standing in the room for an indeterminable amount of time until Romario's voice shook him out of his thoughts. Romario. Romario had just left with the child, hadn't he? Except now he was back, meaning he had been standing in the semi-darkness much longer than he'd thought. "Romario?"

"The child is all right, Boss," Romario said with a slightly softer tone. "Messy and hungry, it appears, but otherwise all right. He's currently with Antonio; he has four kids of his own and a bossy wife so he knows what to do." There was a touch of amusement to his voice as he said the last point. Good. They definitely needed a bit of humour in the middle of this destruction.

"...Good." Dino sighed. "When the child is better... bring him to me."

Romario raised his eyebrows. "Boss?"

"He's my child, Roma," Dino said quietly, with a slightly disbelieving tone to his voice, still. "Kyou had my child. My firstborn son and heir... and that's why she had to hide him from everyone." He shook his head slowly. "I'll be damned if I let him out of my sight now..." Kyou had gone through so much to keep little Kiyoshi safe.

It was his turn to protect their son now that she could not.

For a moment, Romario was quiet. Then, he nodded. "Understood, Boss."

Had Dino not known better, he might have almost sworn there was a touch of smile to his voice.

*

It was strange, Tsuna thought, how he could manage to feel happy and guilty about the same thing all at once.

He had to admit he had needed it, though. All the mafia business weighing on him had really been putting a strain on his relationship; it had been rather refreshing to take a break from it all and simply concentrate on Kyouko for a while. At the same time, he had felt quite conflicted about leaving his family for such a long time... but then, he had left it in very expert hands. Gokudera-kun could certainly handle everything until he returned. There was no reason to worry.

As he was whisked away from his wife the moment they arrived, seeing all the hurry around the mansion, he started to suspect he probably should have worried a bit more.

"Gokudera-kun?" he asked, sighing as he sank into his chair, having been pretty much dragged into his office and then left there. "What's wrong?"

"An attack on Foundation, that's what," Gokudera replied, adjusting his glasses as he flipped through some files in his hands before placing some of them on the desk in front of Tsuna. "It's been a few days now. We tried to contact you, but obviously didn't manage to reach you until now."

"An attack?" Tsuna paled, quickly starting to look over the papers. This didn't bode well at all... "What happened?"

"Quite simply, a heavy assault on the Foundation headquarters here in Italy," came the answer. "Hibari called for help, I sent Cavallone over until we managed to gather enough men to join in. Together we managed to beat the attackers, but both Hibari and Kusakabe were found in critical condition. All the injured were moved here; most of them are getting better, but Hibari and Kusakabe are still unconscious."

If possible, Tsuna paled even further, not even hearing as Gokudera went on about something or the other. All he could currently focus on was what Gokudera had not said. The one thing he couldn't possibly know about, because the only one who knew was Tsuna and he hadn't been able to inform them.

He had failed.

It was his fault. It was all his fault. Hibari-san had asked this one thing of him, this one simple thing, and he had first promised her and then gone on to betray his promise. Obviously, he couldn't help the fact that the Foundation base had been attacked, but he was the one who had chosen to leave and given no way of contacting him in case something like that had happened. His own actions had made it impossible for him to keep his promise, his very important promise, and now he hadn't kept it and it was all his fault.

Terrible images filled his mind, images of a terrified little baby slowly starving to death in some hidden room deep within the base, never getting an answer to his cries. It was too late now, it had been so many days, they'd only find a very small body and Hibari-san was surely going to kill him in some slow and painful manner except Tsuna already felt like dying. He had not only broken a promise to one of his Guardians, he had also caused the terrible death of an innocent little child, and for all that he had dirtied his hands in many things since the day Reborn had first entered his life he had never felt quite so filthy, the burden of his sin weighing heavily on his mind.

"Boss? Are you listening?" Gokudera frowned, looking at him. There was slight concern to his right-hand man's voice, not that Tsuna could blame him. He probably looked rather terrible at the moment. He certainly felt like death.

"It's terrible," he gasped, only barely managing to force the words out of his mouth. "It's terrible, Gokudera-kun, we must –"

"Calm down, Tenth," Gokudera said, still frowning. "Both Hibari and Kusakabe will live; they're still in a pretty bad condition, but the doctors are certain they'll pull through. None of our losses were too unbearable, and –"

"You don't understand," Tsuna said, pushing himself up from his chair, steadying himself with hands on his desk as he felt he could hardly even stand, trembles running through his entire body. "There – there was something in the base, Gokudera-kun. Something I promised to get safe if they got hurt. I – I can't believe I –" He could never make amends for this. Not this. The cells of Vindice would be too gentle for him.

"I believe," said a tired, familiar voice from the doorway, "that Tsuna means this."

Tsuna looked up, startled. For a split second he managed to wonder just who would have simply walked into his office without being as much as announced by the guards, but then his mind recognized the voice just before he saw the guest. Dino was standing in the doorway, looking like death warmed over. He appeared exhausted, as though he hadn't gotten any sleep in the last week at least, but as he met Tsuna's gaze he managed a small, weary smile.

"Worry not, Tsuna," Dino said, walking further into the room. "Kyou didn't leave you as the only safety mechanism. Granted, finding a cryptic message scrawled on the wall in her own blood was somewhat morbid, but what matters is that I managed to decipher it and she won't have to kill any of us in terrible manners when she finally wakes up."

It wasn't until now that Tsuna realized, his mind working slowly as though in some form of a daze, that Dino was carrying something on his arm. Something small... something that looked awfully much like a child. "Is – Is that –" He didn't manage to finish the sentence.

"Hibari Kiyoshi, or so I've been informed." Dino got close enough for Tsuna to actually get a look at the child, the first time he had actually seen the little boy. There was a tuft of soft, dark hair on his head, fine like the down on a baby bird, his incredibly small hands clenched into fists as though prepared to fight the entire world, just like his mother. Slowly, he opened his eyes, looking at Tsuna with the unfocused gaze of an infant.

The eyes, Tsuna noticed, were not the steely grey of Hibari-san's, but rather vaguely yet most definitely brown.

"Say, Tsuna," Dino said, and despite his obvious exhaustion his voice was gentler than Tsuna had ever heard before, "do you think he has his Papa's eyes?"

"Yeah," Tsuna said, and a deep relief settled itself in his chest, not just because the child was obviously alive and well but because suddenly, all the other worries and concerns he had been nursing over Hibari-san's situation seemed to wash away like dust in a river. "I do think he does."

Dino seemed rather harassed as they continued to talk, tired and worn but still smiling, and certainly calmer than Tsuna might have expected, given Hibari-san's situation. He recalled the facts with a quiet tone over the tea Gokudera quickly sent for, telling about how his men had stormed the base, how he had found Hibari-san and her riddle and then found and saved Kiyoshi, how Hibari-san was doing right now anyway and how he had taken it upon himself to look after his son despite Romario's vague protests that it wasn't necessary, really Boss you have other things to concentrate on. There was a hint of worry in his tone as he spoke about Hibari-san but he worked hard to hide it, and a hint of pride and affection as he talked about little Kiyoshi that he did nothing to conceal. It was obvious that even after such a relatively short time, Dino had fully embraced his new role as a father, caring for little Kiyoshi and making up in determination what he lacked in experience.

Tsuna could only hope it would all work for the best even after Hibari-san woke up.

He certainly didn't want to even imagine all the ways in which it could have failed.

*

Dino had, of course, heard all about the stories about babies keeping you up at night. Given them, he had been rather surprised to find that Kiyoshi wasn't quite that hellish. Sure, he did occasionally require food at night, but apparently he loved his sleep just as much as his mother did, sleeping most of the night quite without a problem. No, it was rather different things that led to Dino looking like a sleep-deprived zombie most of the time, the stress of handling everything and wishing for Kyou to wake up and dashing to and fro as he tried to keep everything in order. And after all that was done and the day over, as he retired to the guest room allocated for him in the Vongola headquarters, guards outside his door and Romario in the next room over, he still found himself sitting beside the crib instead of going to sleep, quietly looking at his slumbering child.

They had salvaged to crib from Kiyoshi's nursery in the Foundation headquarters. Everything else could wait, but they had soon discovered that for all that he loved his sleep, Kiyoshi did not like sleeping anywhere else. He supposed it was the soft glow of the stones at the headboard, chasing away any shadows that might have interrupted the child's sleep. As Dino watched him from a distance, two stones were lit. Orange and purple, sky and cloud. Just like Kyou had told in her message.

He walked slowly closer, placing his hands on the edge of the crib as he looked down. A third stone lit up, the orange one glowing more brightly to accompany it. Kiyoshi shifted but didn't wake. He was fed and dry and warm for the moment; the simple matter of the tone of the light shifting towards yellow wasn't quite enough to disturb his sleep right now.

"You're quite the peculiar little thing, aren't you," he murmured, reaching down a hand to touch the child's cheek. Kiyoshi turned his face slightly into the touch, otherwise unresponsive. His little hands flexed slightly, resting on either side of his head on the pillow, tiny fingers relaxing momentarily before again curling into fists.

This was his son. His little son, his and Kyou's. He was such a small creature, but he would grow up eventually, he'd certainly grow up big and strong and impressive just like his parents. He would have Dino's eyes and Kyou's hair and he'd probably want a pet before he could even walk and he'd love training with his mother and pout whenever he had to study but he'd do it anyway since it was important. Perhaps he'd take up the whip, or maybe tonfas, or maybe his weapon would be something entirely different, but in any case Dino was sure he would be quite an expert with it. Of course he would. Their son couldn't be weak, not in any way. He'd grow up to be strong, the strongest there was, and until then, Dino would be there to keep him safe so he could grow up without a worry.

Dino and Kyou. They would both be there, he was sure about it. Kyou would wake up and get better, after all. She was too stubborn not to, and besides he would be a terrible single father.

He wasn't sure how long he stood by the crib, looking down at the slumbering child. However, he was shaken from his thoughts as there was suddenly a knock on the door. "Boss?" called out one of the guards. "Boss, there's someone to see you."

Frowning, Dino wondered who it could be. He had seen Tsuna just earlier that day, and they wouldn't have announced Romario like that... Straightening himself, he walked over to the door. "Yes?"

Opening the door, he blinked as he found himself looking up. "Good evening, Dino-san," Yamamoto said, grinning. "Sorry to bother you at such a late hour, but Romario said you wouldn't be asleep anyway."

"Romario was right," Dino said, chuckling faintly. "Come on in, but be quiet. I'm not going to be the one who gets the kid to calm down if you wake him up now."

"Ah, yeah. The kid." Yamamoto's eyes flickered towards the crib even as he stepped into the dimly lit room. "That's kind of why I came, anyway. I just got back from a mission and thought to get some sleep, but then Gokudera mentioned him and I just had to come to see if it was true." He certainly looked like he'd just come from a mission, a sword still on his back, his eyes rather alert despite the late hour.

"Well, I'm not sure exactly what he told you, but at least it's true that there indeed is a child," Dino said, lips twitching. "Yamamoto Takeshi, meet Hibari Kiyoshi."

"Hello, Kiyoshi-kun." Yamamoto walked closer to the crib, leaning over. The blue stone lit up at his proximity, and he chuckled. "Hey, that's neat."

"Kyou's little project, as I've understood," Dino replied, walking closer, coming to a halt a few steps from Yamamoto. "I'm not sure whether she just thought the indicator stones would be easier than making sure there's always a light on while the child sleeps, or whether she was just paranoid enough that she wanted to make sure she notices whenever someone's at the crib even if they're invisible."

"Since it's Hibari, I wouldn't exactly bet against the latter." Yamamoto chuckled, looking down at Kiyoshi. "He's a neat little kid. Looks kinda like his mum."

"Has his father's eyes, though." Dino couldn't help the slightly proud tone in his voice. After all, this was his son, even if he hadn't been around for him all that much.

"Yours?" Yamamoto glanced over his shoulder. "Heh, makes sense. Can't really imagine Hibari with anyone else."

"Yeah, well, that's what her letter told me." Dino ran a hand through his hair. "Sent for a test, though. Not because I don't trust her word, of course," he knew better than to accuse Kyou of lying about something like that; if the child wasn't his, why hide it from him? "It's just, well, since he is mine, he's my primary heir... and without solid evidence to back that up, nobody will accept an illegitimate heir to the family name."

The tall guardian nodded solemnly. "Sad but true. You going to make it official, then?"

"Of course." Dino smiled softly. "He's my son, after all. I wouldn't be much of a man if I didn't admit that. I'm not sure what Kyou will think about it, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, that's Cavallone Undicesimo sleeping right there."

"That's a heavy name on little shoulders," Yamamoto said, then glanced at the glowing stones on the crib. "Sky and cloud, huh? Takes after both of you, then. And dual flame like his mother, too; he's going to be pretty strong."

"...Not exactly." Dino stepped closer, coming to the side of the crib as well. "Dual flame like both of us."

Yamamoto blinked at the glowing sun stone. "Woah, didn't know that." He grinned. "All the more reason to believe the kid will be really strong, though."

Dino chuckled. "Between his genes and Kyou training him, there's no way he'll ever be anything else." That much at least was clear. Reaching down, he brushed at the bit of black hair on his son's head.

For a moment, the Rain Guardian was quiet, simply watching him. Finally, he asked, "You really care about her, huh?"

"I love her," confessed Dino quietly. "Obviously, I don't know how she feels about me... but at least I'm hoping she'll let me in on Kiyoshi's life." He smiled wistfully. "Being a part of Kyou's life would be more than I dare even hope for."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think she'll protest." Yamamoto gave him a reassuring grin. "I mean, sure, she's really bad about showing any emotions but anger, but she's been around you for years, right? Sure, she disappeared for a while, but that was probably something to do with the baby or something. You know she hates to look weak, anyway, so that might be it."

"Or maybe she just hates me for getting her pregnant and making her weak."

"Gokudera said she left a message for you," Yamamoto said. "If she hated you so much, would she have left the kid in your care? I'm sure she cares for you a bit at least or she wouldn't have."

"Yeah," Dino replied, allowing himself to feel at least a bit hopeful. "Maybe." He then found himself yawning. Damn, but he really was exhausted.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry, I just meant to drop in to get a look at the kid but then I ended up just chatting away." Yamamoto gave him a sheepish grin. "I guess we'd both better get some sleep right now." He nodded down at the crib. "And you, no keeping your father up too much, okay?"

Kiyoshi did not dignify the question with an answer, slumbering away. Yamamoto chuckled, then bid Dino a quick good night and left.

Dino fell down on his bed, feeling suddenly like his eyes just couldn't stay open. He wondered if it was just Yamamoto's calm presence or his words, but suddenly he didn't feel quite as worried about everything. Surely, everything would turn out for the best, one way or another.

He fell asleep with his hand on the edge of the crib, the child happily asleep in the glow of three of the stones.

*

Even after all the years he had known the man, Yamamoto was, Hayato decided, still an idiot.

Of course, it wasn't like he could entirely blame the man for being clueless about everything that had happened. He had been on a mission since before the attack to Foundation took place, after all, and had only just returned. However, that didn't excuse suddenly showing up everywhere, asking everyone about everything, visiting Hibari's hospital room and Kusakabe's and then bothering the Tenth and dropping in on Dino. It was like the spazz had thought his presence was required for anything to go right, except he didn't exactly spazz or fuss about anything. He just... was there, and smiled like the idiot he was, unless he was told to do something, and even then he didn't stop smiling.

It was annoying, so thoroughly annoying, and yet somehow everyone seemed to feel all better now that the idiot was there. As usual. It just didn't make any damn sense, rain or not.

Right now the idiot was playing with the child, as long as anyone could play with someone who couldn't even sit up on his own yet. At least he could lift his head up while lying on the floor and reach for the toy Yamamoto was reaching towards him, making a satisfied sound as he reached the offering. Dino was off eating lunch and catching a nap right now, apparently confident that his son was more or less safe with the Vongola guardians. Yamamoto had been all too eager to offer to look after the kid, anyway. How anyone could be so damn energetic the day after he got back from a mission was quite beyond Gokudera.

"Look, Gokudera," Yamamoto laughed. "He rolled over all by himself!" The idiot's enthusiasm was echoed by the baby, who decided this was the perfect reason to laugh. Then Kiyoshi apparently discovered that his fingers were utterly fascinating, lost in thought as he lay on his back on the floor, studying them intently.

"Wonder when he'll learn to walk," Hayato replied wryly. "He'll probably manage to hit his head on every single wall he comes across if he takes after his father at all." Oh, he wasn't denying that Dino could be quite a brilliant fighter, but the fact remained that the Bucking Horse could still be terrifyingly clumsy at times. Gokudera feared to think him ever carrying the baby without his men around. The klutz would probably drop the kid.

"Oh, that's just mean! Besides, even if Dino-san can be clumsy at times, Kiyoshi's mother is Hibari, right?" Yamamoto grinned at him. "I'm sure that'll counteract it! Hibari's such a great fighter, no kid of hers could be really clumsy." He looked down at the child. "He's kind of pretty, don't you think? Takes after his parents."

Hayato snorted. "You saying Dino is pretty?"

"Well, he's not bad-looking," Yamamoto countered. "And Hibari definitely is. I mean, she's not all typically girly or anything, but she does have a pretty face. Nice figure, too."

"Don't say that near Dino. He'll probably bash your head in with jealousy or something." Hayato rolled his eyes. "Lost your chances long ago, anyway. You know how badly Hibari handles any kind of change. I'd suppose if she's got a child with him, she's not too likely to just switch over to you."

"Oh, I'm not wishing to have her," Yamamoto said, laughing as though the entire thought was ridiculous and he hadn't just been waxing her praise. "I'm a tiny bit jealous of Kiyoshi, though. The kid's seriously cute." Said kid had decided to roll over again, reaching for one of the toys lying about him.

"Go fuck a girl if you want a kid so bad," Hayato murmured. Fuck, but he needed a smoke. Yamamoto was giving him a headache.

"It's not quite that simple, Gokudera." Yamamoto gave him a suddenly serious gaze. What was the matter with that, anyway? "I don't just want any child. If I ever had a child, I'd want to raise them with someone I love, not just some random girl."

"Then find a girl you love," Hayato snapped, raking a hand through his hair. "Plenty of fish in the sea, and most of them are flocking you. Some really pretty ones, too. Less violent than Hibari."

"Just because someone is pretty doesn't mean I'll immediately love them, though." Yamamoto shook his head. "I mean, not that it'd stop me, but, well, it's not like world works like a beauty contest, does it?" He stretched himself even as he continued quite casually, "You're not always in love with the prettiest one around. Or, rather, the one you love is the prettiest one ever, but that's the consequence of being in love, not the cause."

"Don't I know it," Hayato murmured, doing his best not to look as Yamamoto now stood up, stretching his legs that seemed to go on just about forever. Damn it. If it had only been about appearance, he'd have been quite a lost case by now.

He probably wouldn't sleep well tonight, again. He could already tell those stupid dreams were going to be back.

Stupid Yamamoto, anyway.

*

 ****

**IV**

 ****

The first thing Kyou concluded as she woke up was that she was still alive.

Of course, she had little opinion about the possibilities of afterlife, but from what she had heard from various sources, very few of them included pain. Granted, she had never expected to end up in Heaven, but even if Hell existed she was fairly sure the torment there would have been worse than mere constant and overwhelming ache, and there most certainly weren't supposed to be any beds there. However, she was lying in a bed, that much was clear, and though it was annoying to admit it there was constant pain. Hence, she had to be alive, which meant that somehow, they had managed to deter their attackers. Probably thanks to reinforcements, if her evaluation of the situation had had anything to do with actual reality, but then she couldn't exactly find out what had happened after she collapsed simply by trying to draw the most logical conclusions.

For a moment, she lay quietly, not bothering to see anything but the light filtered through her eyelids just yet, listening to her surroundings instead. She heard the silent hum of air conditioning, as well as the occasional beep of some kind of machines, probably some monitors if her condition had been as bad as she imagined it had been. After concentrating for a bit she managed to dissect her feelings of general ache and discomfort enough to conclude that there were various bandages and other such things attached to her body, probably also an IV, if she wasn't entirely mistaken. There were no overt sounds of human activity, though if she focused hard enough, she could hear some distant footsteps from what was probably a hallway. Nobody was moving within the same room, though.

There was, however, the rather obvious sound of someone breathing in the telltale pattern of sleep, occasionally intersected with a light snore. And not just any snore. She knew that sound. She'd heard it often enough in the middle of the night, always followed by a sharp jab of her fingers into the side of the offending idiot who dared to disturb her sleep by such unnecessary sounds.

Slowly, very slowly, she forced her eyes open. At first she shut them right away, hissing at the light that assaulted her. Then, even slower, she forced them open again, adjusting to the light. After a moment, she blinked, then turned her gaze to the direction of the sound.

As she had expected, she found Dino Cavallone there, sitting in a chair next to her bed. He was leaning back, apparently asleep, wearing his usual coat. He looked rather tired, she noted, aside from the obvious sleep, dark shadows under his eyes, blonde hair a telltale mess that indicated he hadn't paid any attention to it lately, a frown on his face even in his sleep. She wondered, momentarily, whether his condition had anything to do with her own injured state, and then just how he had imagined his exhausting himself would do anything to make her better. He always had been an idiot about things like that, after all.

Then, she decided that whatever had motivated him to exhaust himself thus had absolutely nothing to do with her interests. All she cared about at the moment was what had happened after she herself collapsed. There would be enough time to ponder Cavallone's total idiocy later on. First, she needed to know about the base, about her men, about Tetsu...

About Kiyoshi. She needed to know what had happened to Kiyoshi.

"Cavallone," she said, startled at how weak her voice sounded. How long had she been out, anyway? Clearing her throat, she spoke again, "Cavallone!"

Her voice was slightly stronger this time, but there was still no reaction from the sleeping man. Frustrated, she pondered her options. She couldn't manage to get her voice any stronger right now, and frankly, it probably wouldn't help any. A quick evaluation of her condition made it clear that she was still too weak to reach out and shake him, and they had -- probably wisely -- taken her weapons away, so she couldn't even hit him. All she could just about manage to do was lift her hand, and even that was taxing.

Glancing around, she noticed a small table next to her bed. There were several vases on top of it, all filled with flowers, doubtlessly courtesy of the idiot currently asleep next to her. Some of the flowers were starting to wilt, she noted. Meaning she had at least been out for several days. What he had hoped to accomplish by filling the table of an unconscious woman with flowers she couldn't even see was quite beyond her.

Well, now they would get to serve at least some purpose. Focusing on her current task, she ignored all the protests of her rather pained body, slowly reaching her hand towards the table. One of the vases sat precariously close to the edge of the table. Perfect.

Her hand and arm were perhaps annoyingly weak right now, but it thankfully didn't take much of an effort to sneak her fingertips under the vase. It also didn't take much of a tip to make it fall over the edge of the table, shattering on the floor with a rather satisfying crash, sending flowers and stale water all over the floor. Perfect.

The sudden noise finally managed to startle the man out of his slumber, causing him to blink and yelp. His own fault for not being on guard, honestly. It also prompted the door to open, a couple of black-clad men rushing in to see what was wrong. They didn't seem too worried at worst -- probably thinking Cavallone had been the one to break the vase, the klutz he was -- but as they saw her awake, their eyes widened. "Signorina Hibari!"

That certainly startled the last of sleep out of Cavallone's mind. His eyes flew wide as he rushed out of his chair, looking at her. "Kyou? Kyou, you're awake!"

"As apparent," she murmured, drawing her hand back to her bed and letting it fall. Seriously. She couldn't feel this exhausted after such a simple task, surely. "Couldn't say the same about you..."

The guards obviously expecting some form of orders, Cavallone stood up straight, apparently trying to take charge of the situation. "You, go find a doctor," he said to one of them, "and you, stay at the door. Everything's all right, but Kyou will have to be checked."

The men both nodded, then disappeared from the room, probably prompted by the frown on her face. They managed to close the door just before she snapped, "To hell with me! I'm alive... I'm not concerned about myself." She never was too fussed about her own injuries as long as she still drew breath. Surely Cavallone had learned that much by now.

"Ah, everything's all right," Cavallone said, then added, "Well, as all right as it can be, I suppose. The base was pretty badly damaged but repairs are already underway. All the injured, you included, were relocated into the Vongola base, which is where we are now. Tetsu woke up just yesterday but he hasn't been awake much; Romario's been cooperating with your other men to put together a list of damages. We're expecting it to --"

"My message," she interrupted him. "You saw it, didn't you? Someone must have..." Never before had she felt such sudden... fear. Not fear that Cavallone might have decided to ignore the plea in her letter, but rather that he had never found the letter in the first place. They hadn't been able to contact Sawada, and if Tetsu had only barely been awake... And Cavallone hadn't said anything about her son...

"I saw it myself," said Cavallone, sitting back into his chair. "And before you ask, yes, I deciphered it as well." He paused, then spoke just as she was about to give in to her despair and scream or whatever it took to get the truth out of him, "Our son is currently asleep, far as I know. I don't like leaving him out of my sight, but he's with Romario right now, so I trust that he is safe."

Suddenly an incredible relief washed over her. If Kiyoshi was with Romario, it meant he was indeed safe. He was safe and alive and they had found him and she wouldn't need to kill anyone right now. "...Where?"

"Just a few doors down. I can send for him if you'd like," Cavallone replied. "I've kept him mainly with me ever since we found him, but Romario insisted on taking him for a few hours so I could get some rest. Between the stress and the baby, I've been pretty tired."

"You look like it. Idiot," mumbled Kyou. If he was supposed to get rest, what was he doing sitting with her? "He... he's all right?"

"Unharmed and healthy," he reassured her. "Misses his mama, obviously, but it couldn't be helped while you were unconscious. I'm sure he'll love to see you again, though. He's pretty smart for a kid that young."

"He is..." She closed her eyes momentarily, then looked at him again. "You found... my letter?" He must have, if he knew Kiyoshi's name. Anything else he could have just concluded or guessed -- it was hardly that hard to figure out he was the father, even -- but the name he could have only gotten from the letter, if Tetsu was unable to talk.

"Yes. Yes, I did." Cavallone leant on his knees, looking at her seriously. "Kyou... did you really think I would try to harm him?" There was a strangely pained tone to his voice that she wasn't sure she had ever heard from him before. Kyou wasn't sure how he felt about it, but at least it wasn't pleasant.

"He's a threat," she murmured. "Threat to your reputation... your family." That was enough of a reason, wasn't it? She'd seen him do much worse things for the sake of his family than stealing a single life. Even if said life was that of a perfectly innocent baby boy.

"He's my son," countered Cavallone. "Our son, Kyou. I could never hope to hurt him... regardless of whether he's mine or not, I could never hurt any child of yours, period." He looked at her with annoyingly sincere eyes. "I love you, Kyou. I could never cause you such pain."

"You were planning... to marry," she pointed out. Or had the idiot managed to forget that? He probably was even more sleep-deprived than he looked like. "You needed a legitimate heir. He's... a bastard. A clear threat to the line..."

"I was planning to marry, yes," Cavallone replied. "You never gave me a chance to tell you just who I wanted to see as my bride."

She was about to ask him, but then realized how he was looking at her. That annoyingly sincere gaze... he couldn't be serious, surely. "...You wanted to... marry me?"

"More than anything else." Still, ever so sincere and open and such a total, complete herbivore. "I never wanted to marry anyone else but you, Kyou. I would have told you as much if you had stayed. I would have told you if you had come back." He paused. "You already knew then, didn't you."

"That I was pregnant?" As he nodded, she sighed. "Yes, I did... I had half planned to tell you..." She shook her head tiredly. "Then you started talking about... 'proper' heirs... and I decided not to."

"Oh, Kyou..." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I never meant to cause you such pain."

"Don't overestimate yourself," murmured Kyou. "I survived perfectly well even without you. I got through pregnancy and had my child... even without you holding my hand."

"But I should have been there," he protested. "It was my duty! The child was mine, Kyou. Only an incredibly selfish bastard would let a woman bear his child and not even be there for her at the time."

"A bastard... or an idiot." She closed her eyes, frowning, before she looked sternly at him. "He's my child."  
"Our child." Cavallone sounded surprisingly firm about this. "Kyou... I know you won't admit it, but it must have hurt you to go through all this alone. It was your own decision, maybe, but it was my idiocy that prompted you to make that decision, so in the end it's still more or less my fault. It's because of me that you thought you had to hide your child – from the world, and from me." He clasped his hands together, elbows resting on his knees. "I want to make it up to you, Kyou. I know it won't be easy, and that you have every right to just tell me to fuck off and never come back... but I do want to make it all up to you, no matter how long it takes. I want to be part of our child's life... part of your life." He breathed, almost inaudibly, "Please."

She sighed. "I'm going to beat you up... as soon as I can stand."

"Of course." He sounded almost too eager to agree to this.

"I want to be sure that... Kiyoshi'll be safe."

"Obviously." A firm nod. "Anyone wanting to harm my son will have to go through me first."

"You're going to silence anyone who dares to... breathe one word about him being a bastard." Not because she couldn't do it, obviously, but because anyone who would be concerned about that particular point would be concerned about Kiyoshi's link to Cavallone, anyway, not to her.

"Naturally." Another nod. "Anything you want, Kyou. Anything at all."

"And you'll wear a pink tutu and dance down the hallways of the Vongola headquarters."

"Of cours – WHAT?" Cavallone looked at her in shock. Kyou couldn't help but smirk ever so slightly.

"...Just let me sleep, Cavallone," she murmured. "I'll worry about punishing you... when I'm better."

The last thing she saw before allowing her eyes to close again was a small smile on his lips, accompanied by a murmur of, "Just make sure you wake up again."

*

"Kyou?" Dino knocked on the door before simply opening it and peeking in. "Kyou? I heard you were feeling better."

"...Bucking Horse." Kyou looked rather exhausted, still, he noted, but at least she was awake, propped up in a half-sitting position in her bed. "What is it?"

"Oh, I just wanted to see you." He smiled, stepping into the room. "I'm glad to see you're doing better." She certainly looked better, he noted, despite her tiredness and the pale tone of her skin and the various bandages and patches on her body. The doctor who had checked her had reassured him that she was recovering quite well, and would doubtlessly be on her feet soon whether it was for the best for her or not. Kyou was simply stubborn like that.

Kyou raised her eyebrows, now, looking at him questioningly. "And I suppose you think I'm glad to see you as well?" Her tone suggested this was perhaps entirely not the case, but then she had not thrown anything at him yet so he was quite confident it was just her form of teasing him. Had she truly been unhappy to see him, he would have known it quite painfully.

"Perhaps not me, no," Dino replied, stepping aside from the doorway, "but then I was planning to crowd your room. You know, just to make you feel better about when it's only me."

For a split second Kyou frowned, only for the look to disappear as she saw the people at the doorway. Romario was practically holding Kusakabe up, the younger man leaning on him quite heavily. Kyou's right-hand man had insisted on seeing her as soon as he got out of bed, despite the fact he still couldn't walk very far my himself. Sometimes Dino couldn't help but wonder whether Kyou's pig-headed stubbornness was contagious or whether she had just chosen the people around her to match her ideals.

"Tetsu!" Kyou's expression brightened a bit. "You're on your feet, I see."

"At last, yeah." Kusakabe sighed as Romario helped him into a chair, falling down quite heavily. He was patched up just about as much as Kyou, having suffered rather heavy injuries. Of course, the mere fact it had taken this far for him to get properly up spoke volumes. There wouldn't be any permanent damage done, the doctors had told them, not aside from some new scars and quite possibly aches and his left hand wouldn't work quite as nimbly ever again, but at least he was breathing and walking and that was just about all that mattered in the end.

"I heard you were injured rather badly, but here you are already," Kyou went on. "How could you allow such herbivores to take you down so easily?"

Romario frowned, apparently about to say something, but Dino silenced him with a quick gesture. He knew Kyou, and he was positive Kusakabe knew her at least as well as he did. This wasn't something to get angry over.

"I apologize, Kyou-san." There was a twisted half-grin on Kusakabe's face. "Next time I'll take even more damage before I fall down."  
"See that you do." Kyou's expression bore an odd kind of determination as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Honestly, where's the world going when my right-hand man stops fighting before he's actually half-dead?"

"It's not that he gave in too easily," Dino said, lips twitching. "The Vongola just have damn good medics and doctors."

Kyou snorted. "They haven't managed to get me out of bed yet," she said. "They can't be all that good."

Dino decided it best not to say anything to that, instead letting the two chat for another bit. Well, if it could be called chatting, exactly; they did say various things, but it sounded more like a damage report. He was fairly sure Kyou indeed was glad to see Kusakabe there in such a relatively good condition, though, and Kusakabe certainly was happy to see his boss.

A bit later, though, the conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Knowing who to expect, Dino grinned as he headed over. "Another person to distract you from my presence," he said in response to Kyou's questioning frown. Opening the door, he took the precious little package from behind the door. He hadn't felt too good about leaving Kiyoshi with anyone but Romario or himself, but apparently Romario had been right about Antonio's skills where childcare was concerned.

Kyou's eyes actually widened as she saw the child in Dino's arms. "Kiyoshi!"

"I think he's been quite frantic to see his mama at last," Dino said, walking closer to the bed until he managed to place the child in Kyou's arms. "We've been taking good care of him, though, no need to worry. He just misses you."

"It's not me he's been missing, it's the food," Kyou said wryly, looking at the child as though looking him over for injuries. Dino allowed for her little bit of paranoia, watching as she quickly checked the baby over, looking relieved as she indeed found the child to be unharmed and actually quite well. Kiyoshi bore the examination quite patiently until he finally crunched up his face, letting out a rather dissatisfied cry. "See?" Kyou's lips twitched. "I told you."

Apparently rather uncaring about the fact there were three men currently in the room, she quite casually opened her hospital robe enough to reveal one of her breasts. It was bigger than it had used to be, Dino noted in a somewhat passive thought, the most of his attention concentrated on the way she arranged the child in her arm, guiding him closer to the nipple. Kiyoshi latched on almost immediately, hand curling against the pale breasts even as he started sucking, looking for all the world as though he hadn't been fed at all in days and was quite determined to make up for it.

"He certainly seems to have an appetite," Dino chuckled, watching the baby feed.

"Oh, he's most definitely your son," Kyou replied lightly, her tone as close to teasing as it could ever get, though she never gave him as much as a glance. Kiyoshi was obviously more important right now. "He's loud and annoying, enjoys keeping me awake at night, and goes for the breasts the first chance he gets."

Romario coughed in the background. Dino, however, was too busy being indignant to even notice. "Oi! I'm not that bad," he protested. "If I was nothing but loud and annoying, you would have never given me the time of the day!"

"Oh, yes, I would have," Kyou replied. "You would have ended up dead, though." Her eyes were fixated on the child, now tightly latched onto her breast. Dino found himself watching as well, oddly fascinated. He couldn't exactly put any words to the feelings that went through him at seeing the scene, but... there certainly was a strange feeling. It wasn't arousal, oddly enough, given that Kyou's chest was half bare in front of him; there was nothing sexual about the sight, which he supposed was a good thing. Somehow, seeing a child -- his child, his son, their son -- nursing from the woman he loved filled him with an odd kind of... protectiveness. Possessiveness, almost.

There was a fragile life there in Kyou's arms, he thought quietly to himself. Fragile and incredibly precious, to both of them. The child had grown in Kyou's body, it was now feeding from her, it was a part of her but it was also a part of him. He couldn't relieve the baby's needs, not as directly as she could, but he could indeed protect them both. Not that he doubted Kyou's ability to protect herself and her son, anything else, but it had become quite apparent that even she had her limits. And when she was pushed beyond those limits, well... it was only right for him to step in, wasn't it?

Romario and Kusakabe were watching, too, he noted, feeling rather jealously possessive for a flash. There was nothing obscene or lewd about their gazes, though, merely regarding it as a rather normal event, almost as amused at the child's fervour as Kyou herself appeared to be. Then, he supposed Kusakabe was quite used to such sights; if Kyou indeed was this nonchalant about feeding her child, he had doubtlessly seen this same scene numerous times before. And as for Romario, well, there were few things Romario hadn't seen in his years, and a woman nursing a child was rather low on the list of things that would surprise him. He was happily married, anyway; he'd hardly be lusting after his boss's love interest.

Not that he had any right to such jealousy, now did he, Dino thought, feeling somewhat dejected. They had never been in anything that could be called a relationship, certainly not openly. All he had ever had with her was an affair, an on-and-off thing that perhaps did satisfy them both on the occasion that they came together but had never carried any further meaning. Certainly, he was in love with her, strange though it was to admit that to himself, he was in love with her and he wanted to marry her and give her his name and raise their son and perhaps some more children with her, but Kyou had always been independent. She probably wouldn't appreciate being tied down, and besides, he had already managed to scare her away once, unwittingly though it had been. Just because she was allowing him close now, teasing him and allowing him to care for their child, didn't mean she would want him to be a more permanent part of her life.

At least, he thought, he might hope to be a part of Kiyoshi's life. She had relied on him to find someone to care for the child if she was unable to, hadn't she? Certainly she wouldn't steal him away from him as soon as she was better again. Not now that he knew, anyway. And perhaps, now that the misunderstanding had been cleared out of the way, perhaps she would now be willing to continue their little affair, however random and strange it had been. Perhaps she might even agree to be more open about it, as he dared to hope. He didn't know whether she'd had other lovers beside him, but he was certainly willing to drop any other women in her favour. It wasn't like he had been sleeping with many of them lately, anyway. Certainly none that meant as much for him as Kyou did. His Kyou.

Oh, he certainly longed to make her his, one way or another.

Kiyoshi looked so small in Kyou's arms, he thought, but then Kyou looked smaller than usual as well, a pale little figure in the middle of the hospital bed, only the dark hair and eyes setting her apart from what rather resembled a solitary cloud in the middle of the summer. She would have probably killed him if he'd said it aloud, but she looked rather... fragile. Both she and the baby were still weak. They would grow stronger, one faster than the other, but for now, they were weak. They needed protection. His protection.

Could he perhaps convince Kyou to allow him to stay close to protect her even after it wasn't strictly necessary?

Could he convince her to allow him to stay close?

He wanted to tell everyone, he mused. He wanted to tell everyone that this child was his, that this woman was his, that they were his and they were his family and he loved them both and would very painfully kill anyone who ever longed to bring any grief to them. He'd have shouted it from the rooftops, except that wouldn't have reached very far now would it, he would have to find another way to make sure that everyone knew.

He would make them his. Forever, hopefully, assuming he could convince her.

He just needed to take care of something first.

*

The moment Tsuna saw Dino walking into his office, he knew the older man had good news. He still looked fairly tired, but the grin on his face spoke volumes even before he had said a single word.

"Kyou was awake for most of today," Dino announced happily. "...Well, she spends a lot of her time napping, of course, but she's mainly awake and getting better."

"Really?" Tsuna sighed in relief. "That's great to hear." He couldn't help but smile. "I was fairly worried." Of course, his worries had been slightly faded when he'd heard his Cloud Guardian had first woken up after the attack, but there was a certain difference between occasional moments of clarity in her unconsciousness and actually being awake.

"We all were." Dino took a seat as Tsuna motioned for him to. "It'll take a while before she's back in fighting condition again, but there was no permanent damage done. Of course, she appears to be already itching for another battle, but for now she's playing along." His sigh spoke of exasperation and quite deep fondness.

"That certainly sounds like Hibari-san," Tsuna chuckled. "I take it you have filled her in?" He hadn't yet had time to talk with her, busy as he was, but then he supposed she wouldn't complain. Rather, she probably would protest when he finally did show up, complaining about being disturbed and crowded.

"On the major points, yes." Dino nodded. "I'll get her the details once we have the full reports. For now she seemed content in knowing that Kusakabe and Kiyoshi are both safe and the base's being repaired."

"...How did she react to... well." Tsuna shrugged, feeling a bit awkward as he didn't know exactly how to approach the subject. "You taking Kiyoshi into your care."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" And when it came to Hibari, that really told quite a lot. "Right now she's insisting that he stays with her, though. Romario's helping, of course, since she can't even get out of the bed yet."

"That's good to hear," Tsuna murmured. "I was somewhat worried she would try to keep him away from you again."

"No... we, ah, talked about the matter some." Dino took on a rather serious expression, now. "Tsuna... Don Vongola Decimo... there is something I must ask you."

Tsuna nodded, equally serious. Even aside from the formal manner of address, he could tell his so-called older brother was about to say something important. "Yes?"

"Don Vongola Decimo... I want to request your permission to propose marriage to your Cloud Guardian, Hibari Kyou."

Despite his attempts to stay perfectly serious, Tsuna couldn't help the slight smile that curled his lips. "...Permission granted, Don Cavallone Decimo... though I cannot guarantee that she will agree."

"I know," Dino said, looking rather relieved. "I'll have to at least ask, though, don't I?" He looked somewhat sheepish. "I don't know how much you know of what went on between us... but I was rather worried you might not agree."

"Dino-san... I don't know much, that's true," Tsuna said, clasping his hands together. "However, I do know that she had your child, going through great difficulties during her pregnancy, and then hid him away to keep him safe -- even from you. Not that she would ever admit it, but I know how hard it must have been for her to go through all that. Now, you know about the child. Your child." There was just a hint of steel to his voice as he said, "If you did not at least try to propose to her, regardless of her answer... I would have to take that as a serious offense against my family's honour."

Dino's lips twitched. "Understood, Don Vongola. I will definitely try my utmost to make an honourable woman out of her." He paused. "Not that she isn't already most honourable, of course, but you understand, a figure of speech."

"I do understand." Tsuna grinned. "I wish you all the luck in your endeavour... because you're most definitely going to need it."

He wasn't even sure if the sound Dino made was one of amusement or desperation.

*

For a hospital room, Dino thought, Kyou's room certainly carried a rather serious air. Not the kind of serious one usually associated with hospitals, even, where things were uncertain and not everything could be healed. Rather, the air as he stepped in almost reminded him of a work room, so much so that he wouldn't have been too surprised if Kyou had insisted on having her desk brought in. Instead, though, he simply found her sitting on her bed, listening quite intently as one of the Foundation operatives highest in rank after Kusakabe read over the precise damage reports from the attack. At the other end of the sizable room, far enough not to crowd her yet close enough for her to keep an eye on them, a couple of the Vongola guardians, joined by I-Pin, were busy entertaining Kiyoshi. The child seemed to enjoy being the centre of all the attention, a smile on his face. Seeing that made Dino grin, too, before he looked over at Kyou.

"Something the matter, Cavallone?" Kyou looked up at him, eyebrows raised slightly in question. "You're dressed rather formally for simply visiting a convalescent."

"Yeah, well, there's something kind of official I plan to do later, so I figured I'd try to look the part," he chuckled a bit sheepishly. It was official, anyway. Proposing marriage was an important affair when you were a don. "Sorry to disturb you... I wanted to talk with you, but I guess I'll just join Kiyoshi's little fan club until you're done."

"No, we were just about finished." Kyou glanced at her subordinate, who nodded and quickly collected his papers, wisely not wanting to try his boss's patience any further. "So, what is it?"

"Ah... nothing too serious. Just wanted to see how you were doing." Which was why he was accompanied not only by Romario, but two of his other lieutenants as well. Very subtle, indeed. "You're feeling better, right?"

"I was until you decided to crowd my room." Kyou narrowed her eyes. "You have something in mind, Cavallone. Spit it out."

Dino sighed. He supposed there was no point in trying to get around it. He noted others were now paying attention to him as well, the three gathered around Kiyoshi as well as Kusakabe from where he was sitting in a corner, keeping an eye on the situation despite being still badly hurt, himself. Ah, well. It wasn't the first time he had to take care of important things in front of everyone, after all.

He walked closer to Kyou's bed, feeling all the eyes on himself as he did. The others remained quiet, though, Kyou merely raising her eyebrow as she looked questioningly at her. She was obviously growing impatient, so Dino cleared his throat. Better get this just over with.

"There's something I have been meaning to ask you for a good, long while now," he said quietly, looking her directly in the eye. "Something I would have asked that last time we met, if you hadn't left... but it was my fault anyway. I forgot that with you, I should always get directly to the point."

Kyou didn't say anything, didn't betray in any manner whether she had any idea what he was getting at. She probably did, she always was smarter than him after all, but she obviously wasn't going to give him any cues.

"...Hibari Kyou." Slowly, he got on one knee, ignoring the various sounds of surprise all around the room, focusing on Kyou instead. He could have offered flowery words or lengthy speeches about love and affection and whatnot, but as he had just pointed out, Kyou preferred to keep things simple and direct. "Cloud Guardian of Vongola, Head of Foundation... I, Don Cavallone Decimo, wish to ask something of you." He paused. "Will you marry me?"

He wasn't exactly sure what he expected. A tonfa to the head, possibly, despite her injuries, or scoffing and snorts and ridicule, or simply a sneer and some curt comment on how he was very obviously an herbivore. However, none of these were what he received. There was a lengthy silence, at first, followed by a quiet but firm, "I will not wear a dress."

Dino blinked up at her, surprised. "Kyou?" What did she mean by that?

"I will not wear a wedding dress," Kyou repeated, or perhaps clarified, "and I will not recite any sappy vows, or cut a cake, or dance, or have a big fancy ceremony to begin with. I will not follow any stupid herbivore traditions and I will most definitely not let you carry me over the threshold." She paused. "But yes, I will marry you."

At those words, Dino felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his heart. It was echoed by I-Pin's excited squeal, followed by a strangled sound from poor Lambo as the girl hugged him a bit too tightly in her excitement. Dino himself couldn't help but grin brightly as he climbed back to his feet again, reaching for Kyou's hand to lift his up to his mouth. "I love you, Kyou."

To something of his surprise, she didn't even slap him, either for the kiss or the sappy words. Instead, she just looked at him with a slight smirk and arched brows. "Yes," she said, "I'm well aware of that by now."

The others started talking all at once, congratulating and expressing their surprise and whatnot, for all of a moment until Kyou's patience finally ran out and she announced that she wanted her son brought to her and everyone else out of the room, yes, that includes you, too, Cavallone, and you, Tetsu, you do not want to be near me until I get rid of my headache. They all obeyed, none exactly courageous enough to try her patience, bedridden though she might have been at the moment.

As he filed out into the hallway with everyone else, though, not sure if he should have felt happy or amused or dejected or just relieved, Dino found himself pulled aside. He quickly placated his subordinates with some quiet words, yes it's all right, before Kusakabe dragged him off, not far enough that his men couldn't see them but far enough that they wouldn't be too easily overheard.

"...Congratulations," said the big man, and Dino found himself breaking into a grin again.

"Thanks," he said, laughing a bit. "I can hardly believe she actually said yes."

"It's not exactly a surprise." Kusakabe looked like he very much wanted his usual bit of hay to chew on. "I know she's not very obvious about it, but she cares about you."

Dino blinked. "You think so?" If Kusakabe said so, then it had to be true. The man probably knew Kyou better than anyone else. Hell, he'd even been there through Kyou's pregnancy, he thought, chasing away the slight bit of bitterness. It had been Kyou's decision, and he knew better than to argue with those.

"I know so," Kusakabe replied confidently. "It's true she's concerned about Kiyoshi's safety, but she still wouldn't have married you if she didn't want it." His expression hardened suddenly. "She cares about you... which means that you have a potential to harm her in ways nobody else can. You already did it once, and that was when you simply had an affair. If you hurt her again now, it will be even worse."

Dino looked him seriously in the eye. "I'd die rather than hurt her like that again," he said quietly but firmly. "I'd never want her to be hurt because of me."

"Good. Because you know what?" Kusakabe narrowed his eyes. "Kyou-san is strong, but even she has her limits, and you've already done a great deal of pushing those limits. If you ever, ever dare break her heart... I will kill you. Believe me, I will. I don't care if you're Don Cavallone or the Pope or the Emperor, if you hurt Kyou-san, I will make sure you end up dead."

Dino looked him in the eye, and understood. He understood everything. "Worry not," he said, his tone still quiet. "You are not the only one who loves her."

Finally, Kusakabe's expression softened a bit. "I know I'm not," he said quietly. "But you're the one whom she loves."

Love? Perhaps, though Dino wasn't about to dare to believe in that. He'd just be setting himself up for disappointment. Whether Kyou loved him or not, though, didn't matter right now. What mattered was that she at least liked him well enough to agree to marry him.

Kyou was going to marry him. Kyou was going to be his wife.

At the moment, no threat in the entire world could have been terrifying enough to stop him from smiling.

*

There was someone in the room.

She couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything, yet she was sure about it. She'd been shaken awake by something, and now she was certain she felt another presence. Peering into the semi-darkness, she tried to figure out what had awakened her. It wasn't murderous intent, that much was clear; whoever was here didn't seek to harm her. Still... something had bothered her.

She glanced at Kiyoshi, and realized it. The crib. The usual three stones were shining, sky and mist and cloud twofold... except now, the orange of the sky was overwhelmed by the other two, the mist shining brighter than usual. Narrowing her eyes, he looked at the apparent empty space next to her son. "Show yourself, Mukuro."

And immediately, he was there, abandoning his guise of invisibility. "So careless of you, Hibari Kyou," he said softly. "I could have murdered you both in your sleep."

"If you had any malicious intent, rest assured you would have never survived to enter the room." She raised her eyebrows. "I assume the guards don't even know you are here."

"Obviously not." Without much or a ceremony, the illusionist settled himself into a chair next to the crib, looking for all the world as though this was the most logical place for him to be. "I see you've let yourself get hurt. How very unlike you, my dear."

"I was not exactly in the best position to keep myself unharmed," Kyou replied with a somewhat clipped tone. "I certainly saw you nowhere near the battle."

"I was away on a mission, as you well know," Mukuro replied blithely. "After all, I do hope that if you had known me to be anywhere near, you wouldn't have left my name in your little message, as my precious Chrome told me you did. Someone might have misinterpreted it as you accusing me of something."

"If you had been around, I wouldn't have needed a message," Kyou pointed out. Oh, she had indeed had her fail safes. While Mukuro had not known exactly what she had been hiding, she had made sure he was aware there was something in the Foundation base that needed to be retrieved if anything happened to her.

"Indeed. But as I was not, it fell to others to save your precious little treasure." He glanced at the sleeping child. "I have to admit, when you asked me how to hide something, I never thought your secret would be something quite like this."

"Few would have." At one time, she would have thought herself insane for ever considering trusting Rokudou Mukuro with even the slightest bit of her secret. Now, though, she had managed to grow over her old grudge. She largely credited her time in claws of the Vendicare, as well as their subsequent joint little mission to escape, for that little miracle. "Is it really that impossible to think that I might have fallen into bed with someone?"

"You, having sex? Not impossible at all. For all that you value control, you have always been one to give in to your impulses," he chuckled. "You, having someone's child and going on to agree to marry them? Now that I'm having some trouble wrapping my mind around."

"Jealous it wasn't you?" She was even herself surprised at the slightly teasing tone her voice took. Obviously being half asleep was a good state for her to converse with Mukuro.

"Jealous? Oh, no. We both know we'd drive each other insane if we attempted anything like a relationship. It's hard enough to be a passionate rival." His lips twitched. "I'm fairly content at knowing my introducing you to sex was satisfying enough that you went on to carry an affair. I always thought you'd be more or less asexual."

"We agreed never to speak of that again," she murmured, though she found herself smirking as well. "Whatever the state of my sexuality, it most certainly doesn't include you."

"So you're simply Cavallone-sexual, then? How very charming." Mukuro glanced down at the child. "What's his name, then? Chrome never remembered to tell me that."

"Kiyoshi," Kyou replied. "And no, you are not allowed to laugh."

"Laugh? Me? You wound me. I'm sure he's very pure for another month or two, still." Mukuro reached down, a gloved hand brushing the child's cheek. "Such a lovely little boy... I'm sure he'll grow up to be strong." He smirked. "He'll make a fine vessel some day~"

"If I thought even for a second that you are serious," Kyou said wryly, "I'd murder you right here and now, and wear your blood-stained clothes proudly as my wedding dress."

"Oh, you wouldn't. My clothes wouldn't fit your lovely figure at all." Mukuro chuckled. "It's strange, isn't it? Children. They're the true path to immortality. Even once you're dead and gone, a part of you will live on through him. It's the true reincarnation, and you don't even have to go through hell to achieve it."

"Oh, no?" She raised her eyebrows. "It's damn well obvious you've never given birth."

"And be it that I never will. That would require some rather frightening circumstances." The illusionist continued caressing Kiyoshi's cheek. Half of Kyou's mind was screaming at her to get him away from her child, that he was an enemy, someone to be driven away, to be gotten rid of. The other half, the half that she had only slowly discovered over the years, told her otherwise. Mukuro had been an enemy once, it reminded her, but he wasn't one now. He had defeated her though cheating, once, but she had defeated him since and that set the records straight. He wasn't a friend, not quite, but he was an ally and a rival and a like mind, much though she might have hated to admit it, another Vongola Guardian carving his own path through the muddled world of Cosa Nostra.

Mukuro wouldn't hurt her son, her mind told him. He had helped keep him safe once, unwittingly or not, and however much he enjoyed antagonizing her, she knew he held no malicious intent towards the baby.

Obviously, she had to be going insane, she thought wryly. First she had accepted Cavallone's proposal and now she was quietly allowing Mukuro near her child.

She wasn't sure how long they talked, still, wasn't exactly sure what they said or didn't say, wasn't sure just how many times Mukuro chuckled or how long he exactly stayed. At some point, though, he left, or at least she realized he was gone, lying back in her bed as she wondered whether he'd actually been there at all or whether she had simply imagined it all.

Come morning, she was startled awake by a somewhat hesitant-looking servant, telling her that he had a package to deliver. She was then presented with a little box with air holes, the message, "For my Godson," scrawled on top in a handwriting that was vaguely familiar from various notes delivered to the Foundation over the years. Snorting at such presumptuousness, she opened the box, blinking as she found a little, fluffy bird inside, staring up at her from a nest of straw. It was, for what she could tell, an owl.

Well. She supposed she had not dreamed in the end.

*

 ****

**V**

 ****

"I was under the impression we already talked about this." Kyou gave him a gaze that was not quite glare; rather, it rather gave the impression that she did not currently consider him worthy of enough of her attention to actually glare at him properly.

"Except we did not," Dino replied, resisting the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes. Trust Kyou to get stubborn. "We did not talk about this, you merely set conditions to your accepting my proposal. Conditions which, I might point out, I am not trying to violate."

Kyou frowned, crossing her arms under her breasts. Dino did his best not to get distracted. "I distinctly recall saying –"

"That you would not have a big, fancy ceremony. Yes, I remember," Dino said. "However, that does not equate having no ceremony whatsoever. I'm not proposing a big mafia-scale occasion anyway, just –"

"Just Sawada and his annoying puppies and half of your own family and everyone else you can think of," Kyou cut him off. "Tell me, how is that not crowding and following your stupid herbivore traditions?"

"I'm not asking you to wear a dress. I'm not asking you to go through any form of ceremony," Dino sighed. "I'm not asking you for vows or anything else. I'm merely asking you to give our friends a chance to celebrate our union. Just a few friends, not crowding."

"Cavallone, please. Do you really think any of them will actually be happy to see you married to me?"

Dino raised his eyebrows. "Well, considering Tsuna actually made something vaguely resembling a threat in the occasion that I would not at least offer to marry you, I should hope he's not too disappointed that my offer was accepted."

"Sawada did what?" For once, he managed to make Kyou look at least a bit surprised. It wasn't too often that he caught her off guard, so Dino made his utmost to savour the moment. "He – where does he get off thinking that I need his protection?"

"I'm sure he doesn't think anything like that, darling." Dino set a hand on Kyou's arm, then immediately snatched it away as she glared at him. He was awfully attached to his fingers. "He has just been worried about you. He cares about you, Kyou, and believe it or not, he wants to see you happy."

"And he believes marrying you would make me happy." It was not exactly a question, more a somewhat disbelieving statement.

"Well, you accepted my proposal, didn't you?" Dino gave her his most disarming smile. "I know you well enough to know that you don't do anything that makes you unhappy, and so does Tsuna."

"...Let's make something clear here, Cavallone." Kyou looked him directly in the eye. "I am marrying you because, much though it disappoints me to admit it, your name and the strength of Cavallone are a better guarantee for Kiyoshi's safety than any amount of guards I could put around his crib. Do not let this get into your head and push you towards any misguided thoughts about love and affection and other such useless things."

"Of course not," he replied smoothly. "However, I do believe you can't exactly hate me, or I wouldn't be alive anymore."

"You are... tolerable," Kyou said somewhat grudgingly, "and it will be better for Kiyoshi to have two parents. That way, if something happens to one of us, the other can still take care of him."

"And my being tolerable is what brought you into my bed years and years over?"

"My being in your bed is what brought us a bastard son," Kyou pointed out wryly. "Just because you weren't entirely unsatisfying doesn't mean I hold any special fondness for you."

"Whatever you say, my love." As she glared at him, he shrugged. "What? I'm not claiming that you have any feelings towards me aside from some occasional sexual desire and the very pragmatic calculations you're making to ensure our child's safety. None of that means that I cannot have any feelings for you, surely."

"...You're an idiot." Kyou shook her head, dark locks sliding over the pale skin of her shoulders. "If you allow yourself to love someone, you are merely setting up a weakness."

"You mean you do not love our son?"

"Children are different from lovers," Kyou replied immediately. "One is supposed to feel if not affection, then at least protectiveness towards one's own offspring. It is a basic survival mechanism of any mammalian species, prey and predator alike."

"Then allow me to protect our child together with you." Since he was sure Kyou would never allow him to protect her – or, at the very least, she would not allow him to actually state it aloud. "In any case, certainly you could tolerate a small gathering of friends? I will not force you to socialize, but I know they will at least want to see that you have recovered, and get a proper look at Kiyoshi, too. Besides," he added, somewhat mercilessly, "once you marry me, there will be occasions where you cannot avoid social gatherings. Once you're recovered, we will be practically obligated to hold some form of an occasion to introduce you and Kiyoshi to the mafia world. It might do good for you to get the chance to practice your patience in relatively friendly company lest you trigger a war due to killing someone for looking at you the wrong way."

Kyou did not appear too amused. "I have attended those social gatherings before, leaving no corpses in my wake," she pointed out with a somewhat frosty tone.

"Yes, you have, as the Cloud Guardian of Vongola," Dino agreed. "In which occasions nobody has expected you to socialize or indeed do more than become a looming shadow somewhere in the perimeters. However, as my wife you will be expected to take more of the spotlight – even occasionally play hostess to such parties. It will no doubt be quite different from what you are used to."

"...And what will I benefit from playing along with your little social rules?"

"More influence for the Cavallone. More influence for the Foundation," Dino replied. "More security for Kiyoshi's future, which at least you should agree is important. I know you hate the thought of tolerating crowds," he said softly, "but it is just another kind of battle. There's less blood and bruises and broken bones, but that doesn't make it any less vicious. I know you, Kyou. You're a smart woman, and for all that you prefer not to speak your mind unless necessary I know you can have a very sharp tongue when the occasion calls for it. I'm sure that with some time and practice, you'll be no less devastating in that particular battle than you are in your favourite kind."

For a long time, Kyou was silent. Just as Dino was about to speak up again, trying to convince her further, she said, "I do believe you owe me a ring."

"Kyou?" He blinked. That was most definitely not what he had expected.

"You owe me an engagement ring," she said, perfectly calmly, "and soon enough a wedding band. Have them made to my specifications, and I'll play along with your little game. However," she added even as she surely saw his eyes lighting up, "at most I will tolerate Sawada's little group, and the very closest of allies. I will see the guest list beforehand, and if it's too long for my taste, I'll set it on fire and the names that aren't burned unrecognizable may perhaps be allowed to make an appearance."

"Understood." He actually dared to take her hand and lift it up to his lips. The soft kiss he placed on the back of her hand was met with raised eyebrows. "What would you like for your rings? Anything you desire."

"I want something useful," Kyou replied, hardly surprising him. "One mist, one cloud. However, they should not appear to be weapons," she added then. "For all appearances, they should look like a normal set of rings, with no flames or coloured stones or anything that would indicate their nature. If I ever end up in a situation where I would be forced to forgo my usual weapons, few people still would expect a woman to abandon her wedding band, provided it isn't noticeably on fire."

"Practical as ever, I see." Dino couldn't help but grin a bit. Oh, but he loved this devious, scheming little bitch so very much. "Any other specifications?"

"Nothing too lavish," Kyou replied, "but also not entirely too simple. I don't want them to catch anyone's attention, and something too plain on the hand of the wife of Don Cavallone would likely be considered just as strange as something too extravagant."

"I shall keep that in mind." He nodded. "One mist, one cloud, nothing that would attract attention." He paused. "Ah... Kyou?"

"Yes?" She arched her eyebrows. "I know you're going to ask me for another one of your idiotic little favours. Spit it out so I know how many bruises I'll have to add to your punishment."

"There is one more matter we rather must discuss before finalizing everything," he murmured. "Namely, the matter of, ah, names." She didn't say anything, merely looking at him expectantly. "I, ah... Kiyoshi is my heir, so he'll obviously have to be Cavallone... but, ah, Kyou... I know you hate to be bound anywhere, and I know you're proud of your independence, and I would never even dream to try to take any of that away, but, I was thinking, perhaps..." Why couldn't he indeed just spit it out?

"You want me to take your name." Well, thankfully he was engaged to a very smart woman indeed.

"Ah, yeah." Dino felt somewhat stupid, now, for panicking so much over such a simple question. "I mean... it's all right if you want to keep your name, I'm already taking you away from your home and everything, I know there's not much that you have left of your –"

"You know," Kyou cut him off, surprisingly calm, "I never told you, did I?" She was smirking, just a bit. He supposed it was a good sign because he wasn't hurting anywhere right now, so the smirk didn't bode too badly for him. Yet. "I was not born with the name Hibari."

"You weren't?" Dino blinked. That was certainly news to him. Granted, he didn't know much about her background – despite the men he had put to work to uncovering more about her – but that little tidbit was certainly missing from his limited information on his lover. "But..." But what had happened?

"You never met my parents," Kyou said. Well, obviously. "My mother is dead, and my father... the less said about him, the better." Her lips twitched. "Hibari is the name I chose for myself when I left home, and I have not looked back since."

"Then..." Then what? Then obviously the name was too important for her to give it up? Then obviously there was no deep attachment to it? What did that mean in regards to his question?

"Then," she looked at him seriously, "he knows about the name I chose... but if I take yours, it will be much more difficult for him to track me down."

"Kyou, you're an adult woman," Dino said. "Surely your father looking for you cannot be that big an issue."

"Shows you what you know about my father." Kyou shook her head. "But, no. I have no deep-felt affection for my name. I was born with one name, I came to Namimori with another. If I now am leaving Namimori, even if not completely... I could just as well mark the occasion by taking on yet another name, can I not?"

"Kyou..." Again, he placed a light kiss on her hand, then went on to kiss each of her fingertips. She watched her actions with the kind of lazy amusement a cat might allow for a bird puffing its feathers to attract a mate. "I promise I'll make it worth it for you," he murmured. "Anything, everything that's within my power... I will make sure you never have to regret marrying me."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be most delightful company indeed." There wasn't too much sarcasm in her tone. Surely, a positive sign. "Was there anything else you needed to blurt out in a panicked frenzy?"

"Not at the moment, no." Dino chuckled weakly. "...You will be the death of me some day, Kyou." Even now, he almost felt like having a heart attack.

"Oh, I certainly have no plans to let anyone else kill you," she murmured. "When the time comes, you are mine to bite to death, Cavallone."

"You realize," he said on a moment of perhaps misguided courage, "if you marry me and take my name, it will be quite strange for you to continue to call me that."

"I'm sure I'll find some other suitably amusing nickname, Bucking Horse." She smirked briefly. "Worry not, I will not resort to the kind of idiotic pet names Sawada's wife heaps upon him."

"Ah, but sweetheart, you truly do break my heart as you say that," Dino said, unable to resist. "What will I do if my honey pie doesn't call me her sweet little snookums?"

For someone who was still technically a convalescent, he noted, Kyou certainly hit awfully hard.

*

"Don Vongola, I don't mean to appear impatient, but could we perhaps start already?" Don Silvester frowned, looking at him from along the table. The members of the Vongola alliance were all seated along a rather long table, each Don accompanied by a guard, all looking very serious and proper. "I do believe the agreed time for the meeting is already at hand."

"Yes, do forgive me, Don Silvester," Tsuna replied calmly, adjusting the stack of papers in front of him on the table. Gokudera shifted a bit behind him but didn't say anything. "I'm afraid we're still waiting for Signorina Hibari. She has still not entirely recovered from her recent injuries, so she isn't as swift as usually."

"Your Cloud Guardian?" Don Rocca raised his eyebrows. "Do forgive me for saying this, but the fact that you think you need two guardians to stay safe could be construed as a gesture of mistrust towards any of us, especially considering we're meeting on Vongola ground."

"You seem to be mistaken somehow, Don Rocca," Tsuna replied with his most respectful tone, though it might have been just a bit strained. Don Rocca was not one of his favourite people; if not for his political influence, he would have gladly seen him gone from the table. "Signorina Hibari is not here as my Guardian, though it is true he bears one of the Vongola stones. She is attending this meeting in her position as the head of Foundation, as is only appropriate considering our reasons for gathering today."

"We all know she is merely a figurehead," Rocca replied sharply. "As though a woman could ever actually lead such an organization."

Don Rocca was certainly fortunate that it would have been bad manners to punch him right there and then. "I wouldn't suggest even breathing a word about such things near Hibari," Tsuna said, forcing himself to stay calm. No reason to start a war over one idiot. "Apparently you are not aware of this, but she wasn't set in her position, nor did she kill the original leader like some rumours say. She was the one who founded the entire organization in the first place. Every single aspect of the Foundation is in Signorina Hibari's control simply because she created for it to work at her fingertips."

"That rather explains why they were attacked, then." Honestly, could a man truly be so stupid and yet lead a famiglia? "Nobody could truly respect the strength of a woman."

Now, Tsuna narrowed his eyes. He was getting rather annoyed. "Hibari is my strongest Guardian," he said sharply. "She is one of my most reliable allies," even if sometimes she did whatever she pleased without ever consulting him as to whether it was wise or not, "and I'm afraid I will not bear any doubts about her abilities simply because she is female." Never mind that if Hibari-san herself had been there, she would have probably killed Rocca by now. Certainly, she knew the value of good relations -- she had learnt it over the years if nothing else -- but she did not have any patience for idiots who underestimated her simply because of her sex.

"Of course, we will have to excuse Don Rocca for his little bout of mistrust," Dino-san said admirably lightly. Tsuna had almost expected him to lash out in Hibari-san's defence. "He must be rather bitter towards the female sex in light of his recent divorce." His eyes flitted towards the woman standing behind Rocca's chair. "Certainly, he is not altogether biased towards women, if he chose one to stand in as his guardian in this meeting. I am certain this particular dame is most accomplished in combat, or at the very least has quite a head for business and organization despite her gender. After all, it's not like anyone would ever bring a second here simply for the company, now is it?" As though they hadn't all known perfectly well that the woman in question was the very reason Rocca's wife had left him. The scandal had been quite obvious.

Thankfully Tsuna did not need to put out any further flames, as just then the guards outside opened the door, allowing Hibari-san in, followed by Kusakabe. She still looked rather pale and more frail than Tsuna was accustomed to seeing, but she nevertheless appeared quite determined as she seated herself in the last remaining chair, Kusakabe lingering behind her. Not that anyone was truly looking at her, anyway. Their attention was quite effectively stolen by the child in her right-hand man's arms.

"Now, I'm forced to speak up," Don Varano said. "Is it exactly proper to bring a child to a meeting such as this?"

"My son is yet to learn a word, and certainly cannot divulge any information revealed in this meeting to anyone else," Hibari-san said sharply, eyes fixed on the folder of documents in front of her, quickly browsing through them. "Unless you are suggesting that I might be in danger in the presence of supposed allies and am thus endangering him by bringing him here, I would assume that as long as Don Vongola has no complaint, he will remain here."

"I have no complaint," Tsuna replied as others turned to look at him. "Rather, I would think it better for the safety of the child to stay here. Ah, yes, it might be better to do some introductions," he added. "There appeared to be some confusion earlier, so let it be more than clear that Kyou Hibari is here in her position as the founder and leader of the Foundation, not as my Guardian. The child is her son, Kiyoshi Hibari, and as his father is currently unavailable and he was just recently put in danger in the attack to the Foundation headquarters, I would not think to force Signorina Hibari to leave him in anyone else's care at present." Never mind that the child's father was sitting right next to her, anyway... and that Hibari-san would have probably killed him if he had dared to make a complaint. Not that he would have.

"Signorina Hibari?" echoed Don Silvester. "He does have a father, doesn't he?" His tone certainly suggested he supposed otherwise.

"Yes, he does," Hibari-san replied firmly, "not that it is of any concern of yours. Shall we start, Don Vongola?" Before she was forced to hurt any of the old idiots, the unspoken message went. Not that Tsuna exactly disagreed. The tension was quite clearly building up in the room already.

Once they got past the formalities, they got on their main issue of the day, the very reason for this meeting. Rocca was still frowning, but even he listened more or less carefully as Hibari-san quickly went over the reports on the attack. The number of attackers, their affiliation and strength were quickly brushed over, with the last mention that to their knowledge, nobody had escaped alive. Of course, that didn't mean there weren't forces involved in the attack who simply had not taken part in the actual operation, Hibari-san pointed out, but they were currently busy at work interrogating any of the attackers that had not been killed in the battle.

"What exactly was the goal of this attack, anyway?" Enma asked. "Foundation is an important asset to the alliance, certainly, but aside from individual operatives, I've come to understand you don't hold any significant military or political power. What would anyone gain from attacking you?"

"The very thing we were founded for, obviously," Hibari-san replied. "Information. All our main research laboratories in the headquarters contain rather sensitive information, and the deepest levels also house the main servers for our network. We deal in information, Don Shimon. As anyone who has ever actually paid their fees in time knows by now," implying, never saying directly, so very unusually diplomatic of her, "our information does not come cheap. Anyone who got their hands on all of our data could certainly make quite a profit."

"Did they succeed, then?" Don Portelli asked, frowning. "One would imagine the losses were at least rather minimal, as to my understanding you were victorious in the battle."

"Far as we have understood, no actual data was stolen," Hibari-san assured them. "They never reached our main servers," mainly because she herself had stood in the way, "though most of our laboratories were more or less destroyed. Most of our research was set back some, but nothing invaluable was lost."

"Aside from the casualties," Dino murmured quietly.

"Indeed." Hibari-san frowned as she flipped back to the page with the numbers. "Most of our actual operatives were out of base at the time, but our research staff took quite a hit... it will take some time to replace everyone we lost and for the injured ones to recover." The frown on her face was deeper than when she had reported the material damages earlier on. Tsuna took this to mean that she was actually upset to have lost some of her men. Perhaps she didn't put much value on the lives of those she regarded as herbivores, but her own men were a different matter altogether. She didn't let herself get attached, perhaps, but Tsuna knew that she did not take lightly to anyone attacking those she considered hers to protect.

They spent another moment going over the attack, discussing possible culprits and future countermeasures. Suggestion was made for Foundation to actually acquire some staff merely concerned with fighting, something that Hibari-san obviously wasn't too averse to. However, to Tsuna's surprise, she didn't seem too concerned with the issue at the moment, despite the hurry their allies were suggesting for building up her defence force. Of course they would be hurried, he thought wryly. As long as Foundation couldn't protect itself, its defence would eat the resources of their allies.

"There is no reason for you to worry about your precious forces. For the moment, Foundation is already under heavy protection," Hibari-san said calmly. "The base is guarded day and night by allies until we can rebuild our defences."

"Really?" Don Silvester raised his eyebrows. "I was not aware of such an arrangement. The last call for allies I heard of was the request for reinforcements during the actual attack."

"That is because you were never called upon for this particular operation," Dino replied in Hibari-san's stead. "Cavallone has more than enough men to take care of such an operation."

"And why would Cavallone choose to take over this issue all by itself?" Rocca asked. "It's obviously the responsibility of all allies; you'd be foolish to accept the mission on your own resources only."

"Not quite." Dino looked admirably calm for what Tsuna was starting to suspect was coming next. "It's very much in Cavallone's best interests that the situation with Foundation remains stable for the time being."

"And why would that be?" Silvester asked. "Certainly you have not put any more resources in them than any of us."

"That is not the issue here." Dino's lips twitched and he glanced at Tsuna, who replied with a nod. Yes, he quite approved of what he was sure would follow. "It is not the Foundation directly that I am concerned for. Rather, it is quite vital for me that there are no further distractions for Signorina Hibari at present, as there is a particular contract I am interested in forming with her that has nothing to do with Foundation."

"Don Cavallone and I are getting married," Hibari-san said rather bluntly.

For a moment, everyone was silent, apparently shocked. Gokudera shifted behind Tsuna but otherwise stayed calm. Aside from them, only the couple in question and their right-hand men seemed in any way calm. Except, Tsuna noted, a slight twitch of Adelheid's lips from her position behind Enma's seat. Figured. He hadn't been sure just how deep the alliance between the two women ran, but he had been aware they were occasionally in touch. If nothing else, she would have known about Hibari-san's relationship with Dino-san.

Of course, he was hardly surprised that Silvester was the first one to speak up. "I was under the impression you said this did not concern Foundation directly, or us as their allies," he said sharply. "I'd think Cavallone taking over the organization is quite a major move."

"It is not, as we are not," Dino replied, still quite calm despite all the gazes and murmurs. "Foundation will stay entirely independent. Certainly, this will mean an even stronger alliance between my famiglia and the organization, and a more personal interest for me in the success of Foundation's operations, but on a management level, Foundation will remain entirely free."

"How can it concern you?" Rocca asked. "If you are not taking over Foundation, someone else is. Then what would be your deeper connection?"

"...You seem to be under the quite mistaken impression that I have any intention of giving up my position." Hibari-san looked rather sharply at Rocca. Tsuna could swear he could see a flicker of purple in her bracelet as the irritation grew. It was quite a good thing that she had learned self-control over the years. The Hibari-san he had first met years ago would have attacked a while ago already.

"Well, obviously!" Rocca snapped. "You have a child, and you are getting married. What reason would you have to remain in your position?"

"Why are you not similarly expecting Don Cavallone to give up his position upon our marriage?" Hibari-san asked. "This is not a political union. It is not meant to shift the power levels in any direction. Foundation will remain mine, Cavallone will remain his. The fact that we might be married will not change either of those facts."

"I'd be more worried about how this effects Vongola," Enma murmured. "Are you all right with this, Don Vongola?"

"Yes." Tsuna nodded in response to his friend's question. "Don Cavallone talked with me about this beforehand, and I have given my blessing to this union. I don't see any conflict between Hibari being my Guardian and her being married into the Cavallone family, especially since Cavallone is one of our strongest allies to begin with. I also fully believe in the continued independence of Foundation," he added, glancing at Rocca. Sexist old idiot. He was lucky Kyouko wasn't there.

"Then why would you get married?" Don Varano asked. "If this doesn't concern Cavallone or Foundation or Vongola, what point is there?"

"I should think it is obvious," Hibari-san replied. "We are merely seeking to establish the position of our son."

"Your son? ...Both of yours?" Don Silvester's eyes flickered to Kiyoshi, still happily napping in Kusakabe's strong arms.

"Yes. Both of ours," Dino said firmly. "I acknowledge him as my son and heir, and before you can ask, yes, DNA tests have already confirmed the fact. Kiyoshi Hibari is my firstborn child. By marrying his mother, I aim to make his position as the next Don Cavallone official once and for all."

"Congratulations, then." Enma smiled faintly. "Is there going to be a wedding?"

"No," Hibari-san said curtly. "Our union will be a private affair. And, as you probably have already concluded," if only some of them hadn't been such thick-headed idiots, "we expect that none of you spread the word about the fact just yet. We will make the news public at a later date, but for the moment, this is not to leave this room."

"We are waiting until Foundation has recovered properly to make the announcement and have a proper celebration," Dino-san continued. "It would be all too easy for someone to mistakenly think that this particular distraction will make it easier for someone to attack Foundation again." Never mind the fact that Hibari-san still had some recovery to do before it would be any good for her to make any form of public appearance.

"And if," Don Rocca asked, "we do not approve?"

"You are free to disapprove all you wish," Hibari-san replied. "However, if you think even for a moment to actually do something about the fact, or publicly reject our union... you may consider any ties and contracts you might have with Foundation null and void." She narrowed her eyes, looking at the old fool.

"The same goes for Vongola," Tsuna said as calmly as he could. "We appreciate all of your friendship," if it could be called that, "but the fact remains, I have given my approval to this union, whichever form it may take. Cavallone Famiglia and the Foundation are both important allies of the Vongola, never mind the fact that Signorina Hibari is, and will remain, one of my Guardians. Anyone who does anything that can be construed as an attack towards their marriage will essentially openly oppose my will. I will take such actions as both personal insults and breaches of alliance, and will retaliate as appropriate."

"The same, obviously, goes for Cavallone," Dino-san said, equally calm. "If you do not approve of our decision, Don Rocca, we can hardly change your feelings... but you would do well to keep such opinions to yourself, as I am quite confident your famiglia cannot afford to lose three strong allies at once."

Never before, Tsuna thought, had he seen Don Rocca look so angry. But then, he had also never seen him look so pale, either.

Both his Don side and the side more concerned with his friends half wished that Rocca would do something that would justify breaking alliance with him. His famiglia was a good ally for now, still, but the more time passed, the weaker they were growing, and quite frankly they were becoming a burden on the alliance even without the don's scandals and sexist idiocy.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

*

"You're being childish."

"No I'm not." Kyou frowned at her reflection. She looked absolutely ridiculous, she decided. Though it was far from being a formal gathering, Dino and everyone else had insisted that she should at least dress up a bit, since it was indeed a celebration. She would have been all too happy to beat them all to the ground for pestering her about such things, but then she had agreed to this idiocy herself. She supposed she could just as well play along for now and then take it out on Dino later on.

Nevertheless, she couldn't help the frown that took her face as she looked at herself. She'd never felt quite at home in dresses; they tended to make fighting awkward, and the last thing she wanted to think about when she was in the middle of a battle were her clothes. Besides, she had always been quite convinced that there was no dress on earth that would look good on her slender frame. Apparently her so-called friend disagreed, having forced her into this contraption.

She supposed she could admit it wasn't altogether torturous, she grudgingly thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. The dress was fairly simple in design though obviously luxurious, and the last bits of pregnancy curves that she hadn't managed to shake off no matter what seemed to actually fill it quite nicely. She'd refused to wear any extra jewellery, the Cloud bracelet and the rings Dino had gotten for her the only things on her person aside from the dress. None of it was too extravagant, certainly nowhere near some of the scarecrows she sometimes saw in mafia gatherings. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Yes, you are." Adelheid, of course, had no problem encasing herself in a dress that might have been called slutty except Kyou was rather convinced there was no piece of clothing that could drape over the taller woman's figure without giving the suggestion of indecency, so compared with what she might have worn it was downright chaste. She was watching Kyou with a look that appeared to be a mix of amusement and exasperation on her face. "You look fine. You're a grown woman, it's okay for you to be seen in a dress once in a while. You agreed to have this party, and you're going to go down there and meet the guests if I have to drag you. You know all of them anyway."

Kyou raised her eyebrows at the other woman in the mirror. "Are you perhaps suggesting that I'm nervous?" To think of the ridiculousness!

"Well, how else can you explain this stupid hesitation of yours?" Adelheid looked at her with a smirk. "You're Hibari Kyou, aren't you? You're not afraid of anything. Hell, you went to the cells of Vendicare and made them afraid of you, not the other way around. And now you're so scared of a little party of friends and allies, you keep fidgeting like a little girl!"

"I'm not scared," Kyou replied flatly. "I have no friends, and if we want to get down to technicalities, I am not Hibari Kyou anymore."

"All the more of a reason." Adelheid stepped forward, her heels clicking against the floor. "Come on. They're probably wondering where we are. You do want to show off your son, don't you?"

"You make it sound like he's some kind of a piece for exhibition," Kyou said wryly, taking one last glance at the mirror. Adelheid had forced her to put on some make-up, not enough to bother her but some anyway. It was, her so-called friend insisted, practically a requirement for a woman in the mafia, and for all that she perhaps didn't care for how she appeared in the middle of a battle, she wouldn't want to be outdone by the guests in her own party, now would she? The words had rather reminded Kyou of what Dino had said about the social gatherings being a battle of their own kind, though she doubted there was going to be a too vicious social throw-down among what, indeed, were probably best categorized as friends and allies, of Dino if not herself.

Walking over to where her son lay half-asleep in his crib, she picked him up, careful about her balance. Gods, she hated high heels. She had absolutely no idea how Adelheid could wear them on a frequent basis. Not that she couldn't walk with them, of course, she did have enough control over her body to appear as elegant as ever even in these ridiculous shoes, but they were just terribly impractical.

"Oh, let me take him," Adelheid said, practically snatching the boy from her arms. "We wouldn't want to have your grand entrance messed up by a baby hiding any of your glory, would we?" Kyou had dressed Kiyoshi in what she supposed were nice enough clothes, which the boy seemed to have very little concern for, having already drooled on his sleeve. He apparently didn't mind being held by Adelheid, though, blinking at his mother as though asking why she didn't have as much of a chest for him to enjoy.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you." Kyou gave her an accusing glare. "You're enjoying treating me like some dress-up doll and parading me out there in front of everyone."

"Me? Oh, never, darling." Oh, hell yes she was, Adelheid's smirk said as she walked to the door. "I'm just glad that I finally have an excuse to push you into accepting the fact that you have a feminine side, too."

"Of course I have a feminine side," Kyou snapped. "I pushed a living, breathing human out of my nether regions and have fed him from my chest. I don't think anyone would be foolish enough to suggest I do not fill the specifications of the female sex."

"Well, you sure as hell don't act like it." Adelheid prompted her to step out into the hallway. "Now, come on. We're probably already late."

"I don't understand why you are so fussy about this," sighed Kyou. "It's nothing special anyway. I've been forced to play social with these same idiots over and over again ever since middle school."

"It is special," Adelheid insisted. "It's special because you are now the hostess, not the lurking shadow by the wall, and it's special because it's not some casual gathering but a celebration of your wedding. You're going to go out there, Signora Cavallone, and you're going to show everyone your child and accept their congratulations and act like a damn human being for once. I know I'm hardly the epitome of good behaviour, but at least I understand the importance of good relations."

Kyou gave her a suffering glance. "How much is Dino paying you for this?"

"Paying me? Oh, nothing." At her disbelieving gaze, Adelheid shrugged. "Well, so he did agree to make a certain deal that will be very beneficial for Shimon... but mainly I'm doing this for my own sadistic pleasure." Her long strides hurried down the hallway. Kyou followed her, walking fast, not about to admit that her legs and thus steps were shorter even if it was painfully obvious. "Don't dally, now."

Sadistic pleasure or business deals or whatever, Adelheid certainly forced her to reach the dining room where the so-called party was to be held in a rather swift fashion. Kiyoshi didn't seem to mind the fast travel, merely smiling with a couple of fingers stuck into his mouth. The traitor. He'd probably grow up to be annoyingly social and talkative just like his father. At the door to the dining room, Kyou gave her friend one last glare, then drew a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Just as she had expected, the door was already crowded. Everyone had apparently arrived in a timely fashion; a quick glance around the room didn't immediately seem to show anyone missing. She immediately noticed Dino, his tall figure and blonde head quite easy to spot in the crowd, apparently talking with Tsuna and Kozato Enma. She might have actually thought they had some important don-like things to discuss if not for the idiotic grin on Dino's face.

For all that she had noticed Dino first, the first one to spot her was Sawada Kyoko. Of course. Kyou was convinced the woman took even more pleasure at forcing her to appear sociable than Adelheid in all her cruelty. A happy greeting made sure that everyone noticed her, turning every head in the room towards her.

"Ah, Kyou, the light of my life," Dino announced, striding towards her with an annoyingly bright grin on his face. "I was starting to fear that you might have decided not to grace us with your presence at all. It would be quite unfortunate if my lovely bride were to miss our wedding celebration, now would it not?"

"Technically, I am not your bride," she replied, though tolerated him to take her hand and press a kiss upon the rings there. She had to admit, if she hadn't known better even she wouldn't have known that they were capable of carrying a flame. "We signed the documents a while ago. I'm your wife by now."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, my darling." Dino grinned at her. "You truly are a sight for sore eyes, Kyou. You should wear a dress more often."

"Really!" Miura squealed, looking at her with bright eyes. "You look absolutely adorable, Hibari-chan!" She then looked somewhat embarrassed. "Ah... you're not Hibari-chan anymore, are you?"

"No, I suppose not." She raised her eyebrows. "Not that I expected you to realize it." She was rather surprised the little spazz had remembered even as belatedly as that.

"Congratulations, Kyou-san." Sawada was smiling a bit as he walked closer. The annoying brat. Just because he wasn't as weak as he had been back when she had first met him didn't mean he was any less irritating at times, especially when he was grinning like that. "I already congratulated Dino-san, but I suppose I should now say the same to both of you. I really am happy for you two."

"That makes one of us," Kyou murmured, earning him a half amused, half exasperated glance from Dino. Honestly, was everyone intent on doing that?

After Sawada, everyone else flocked about them to offer their congratulations. If it hadn't been for Dino keeping a rather strong grip on her left hand, she probably would have hit some of them. If nobody else, she certainly was tempted to hurt Sasagawa, who apparently had entirely forgot that he had ever had an indoor voice, shouting his oh-so-extreme congratulations so loudly, she was sure she would have heard him even if she had never left the master bedroom. Honestly, one would have thought he would have learned by now.

"Oh, is this little Kiyoshi-kun?" And now the women had noticed the baby Adelheid was still holding. Of course, this was apparently the appropriate cue for her to return the boy to his mother, which meant Kyou was now crowded again, this time perhaps by less people but they were also quite more persistent. The men seemed to handle the appearance of the baby with little more than manly slaps on Dino's shoulder and some more congratulations. Honestly. As though he'd done next to anything for the matter, and what little he had done he had certainly enjoyed enough not to make it out to be such a terrible effort.

Somehow, she wasn't sure how though she suspected it had to do with Kiyoshi being in her arms and thus making fighting quite impractical, she got through the worst of the cooing and giggling and questions without littering the floor with any corpses. When Sawada's wife asked to hold Kiyoshi, she was all too glad to hand him over, if only because it got the attention away from her. Stepping aside, she rather felt like she couldn't even breathe properly for all the people around her. She did not, she decided, like being the centre of attention no matter what the reason.

"You look a bit pale." And see, here was Dino by her side again, so very conveniently when the women were busy cooing over their son instead of tormenting her. Where had he been minutes ago when the little mafia wives and girlfriends had all been busy suffocating her?

"Rather sharp of you to notice," she murmured, walking over to where she saw a table with various food items set out. "There's hardly room to breathe here."

"You're doing admirably," he replied with a low tone, staying consistently beside her. "I had half expected you to have your tonfas out by now."

"I did consider it more than once," she replied, "but then figured that there's no way I could get blood out of this dress, and if I ruin this, Adelheid will simply drag me off to buy another one." As he raised his eyebrows, looking vaguely amused again, she snapped, "What?"

"Nothing, Kyou, nothing whatsoever." He snatched the plate from her hands and started setting things on it, as though she were some kind of an invalid that needed his help instead of using her hands. Oh, she knew all about good manners and etiquette, she wasn't quite that ignorant, but that didn't mean she cared to follow them when they were idiotic. "Thank you for not making a mess of our allies."

"You owe me for this," she replied sharply, taking the plate back before he could add another little bit of sushi on it. She'd get her own food, damn it.

"I was under the impression you agreed to this celebration in exchange for the rings." He actually had the gall to say that?

"I may have agreed to a celebration," Kyou replied. "I never agreed to being so thoroughly crowded, I couldn't draw a breath without bumping into someone."

"It's a necessary evil in things like this, I'm afraid." Dino lifted a hand to brush it against the side of her face. Kyou was sure she heard someone sigh. She didn't even need to turn to glare the way of the sound to see that it was the romantic fool Miura, but she did so anyway just for good measure. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

"You're building up your bill of things you need to make up to me rather more quickly than you'll ever be able to pay up," Kyou pointed out wryly. "When I finally manage to get you to spar, you're not going to be walking for a month." Okay, so perhaps she wouldn't cause such serious damage, that would mean not training with him again for another month after all, but she was certainly going to make him hurt.

"I'm sure you'll make me suffer adequately." Dino nodded sagely. "But for now, do try to endure, all right?" With a hint of concern entering his tone, he added, "If you really are feeling faint, you should probably sit down for a bit. Nobody will think it's weakness or anything; they know how badly you were injured."

"I'll stand." She wasn't quite that much of a weakling, thank you very much. Some sharp words caught her attention, then, with very familiar voices raised in some form of disagreement. "Please tell me that isn't the sound of someone trying to force my child on Sasagawa's girlfriend." She would not turn to look. She would not.

"It... was," Dino said, peering in the general direction of the rather loud disagreement. "Looks like Hana-san made it rather clear she's not going to hold him, but Kiyoshi's not crying so I suppose everything's all right."

"It had better be, because if he does start crying you're the one who is going to attend to him," she informed him with a sharp gaze.

He raised his eyebrows. "And if he's simply hungry?"

"Unlikely to happen any time soon, as I nursed him just before I forced myself into this death trap of a dress," Kyou replied. "If that happens, though, I'm going to go to our room to nurse him, and I'm not guaranteeing I will return."

"You promised to attend the party, Kyou."

"That I did," she admitted, "but I never told you exactly how long I would tolerate this idiocy."

"You're going to tolerate it for however long our guests remain," Dino said, a surprisingly firm tone to his voice. "This is nothing, Kyou. You will have to tolerate even more tedious gatherings with even more people in the future, and you knew it even before you ever accepted my proposal. Think of this as a trial run. You can just as well start to build your tolerance now."

"For every hour I remain here," Kyou said, "I want one hour of sparring with you tomorrow."

"You've got it." He agreed surprisingly easily. He probably had expected something even more demanding.

"And if there is a fight," Kyou added, "I'm damn well taking part." Not that it was too likely, mind you, but considering the way Gokudera was glaring at the ever happy Yamamoto chattering away at him, never mind the presence of some of the Shimon guardians and the somewhat bratty attitude of their own lightning guardian, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't forget all about the etiquette she was forced to play along with.

"Not that I'm too happy with the idea," Dino sighed, "but I suppose letting you loose would be the quickest way to stop any fight that actually might start." See, he knew their friends just as well as she did.

"And if instead of fighting those two finally get over themselves and start fucking right in the middle of the room," she said, jerking her head towards where the Rain and Storm guardians were having their socially dysfunctional little interaction, "I'm not going to be the one who pushes them behind the closest door."

"...I rather doubt Gokudera and Yamamoto are going to do anything like that." The scandalized look on Dino's face was almost amusing.

"Oh, please." Kyou stuck another bit of sushi into her mouth, savouring the taste before she swallowed and added, "They've been at it for ten years now. There's only so much unresolved sexual tension two grown men can take and not explode one way or another."

"You can't be serious." Again, that disbelieving look.

"I may not be the best judge of social interactions," Kyou said wryly, "but I do know tension when I see it. If someone actually bothered to inform Gokudera that the woman Yamamoto occasionally goes on missions with is not only definitely taken but also very firmly lesbian, they'd be at it like rabid bunnies before the week is out."

"Maria Salvay likes women?" Dino practically squeaked, eyes wide. "Er, I mean..."

"Either that, or her by now two-year affair with Adelheid is the worst case of mistaken gender I've ever seen," she replied. "And as for the two idiots, either Gokudera is very firmly gay or he's the strangest lying drunk I have yet come across, and Yamamoto's been making puppy eyes at him for so long he puts even the lightning brat and I-Pin to shame." As Dino gave her a strange look, she snapped, "What? Just because I prefer not to mingle with these idiots doesn't mean I can't at least be observant."

"You know, Kyou," Dino said, his tone almost annoyingly affectionate, "I'm starting to get the feeling that you're just a natural fighter no matter what the battle."

"But of course." Kyou took another bite of sushi, her eyes now following Gokudera and Yamamoto with a somewhat detached interest. "...Give me five minutes with one person in this room, and I bet you those two will be all over each other before the night is out."

"I never took you for the type to enjoy matchmaking, darling."

"I have no particular fondness for it," Kyou replied, "but if it guarantees nobody will remember to pay any attention to me for the remainder of the night, I'm willing to at least shuffle the deck even if I prefer not to play the game."

"...You said you're willing to bet," Dino said with an almost mischievous tone. "Tell me, what kind of stakes were you thinking of?"

"Koenig is designing earrings that can be used to focus a flame. If the idiots finally get over their mutual blindness, you'll get me a pair of the prototypes."

"Fine." Dino smirked. "And should you be wrong?"

"If I am wrong," she returned his smirk, "I'll wear the nightgown Adelheid got me tonight."

This promise made her husband swallow and flushed ever so slightly. Even without having seen said gown, he knew enough about Adelheid to make certain assumptions.

Too bad for him, Kyou mused, that she was not about to lose said bet. Rather enjoying the rest of the snacks on her plate, she let her gaze sweep over the room, looking for Bianchi.

She only needed to invest five minutes of her personal time. Once the idea had been introduced, she knew Bianchi would not rest until her darling little brother had succumbed to the bonds of love or died resisting.

And if it backfired, she'd most definitely get the fight she wanted.

Suddenly, the evening didn't seem quite as terrible anymore.

*

"...Well." Tsuna sighed, resting his hands on the desk in front of him. "I'm not even sure which one of these idiots should apologize first."

"Actually, that might be me," Dino said, rubbing the back of his neck even as he leant back in his seat opposite to Tsuna. "Kyou's the one thow set all this in motion, even if she did use Bianchi to do the actual deed, and I'm the one who encouraged her. Besides, I was the host. It was my responsibility to make sure everything remains peaceful."

"Nonsense," Tsuna snorted. "Whatever Kyou-san did, or whatever Bianchi-san did or said at her encouragement, does not warrant an apology from anyone. The ones who caused a disturbance are them." He threw a glare at three of his guardians, standing to the side of the desk. They at least had the decency to look sheepish, though Yamamoto still managed to smile. "That you're a host is just another offense on their list."

"It's not my fault," Gokudera spat. "It's the lawnhead who decided to be an idiot."

"Oi! Octopus head is the one who attacked me first!" Ryouhei replied quickly. "I was just protecting myself to the extreme!"

"Maa, maa, guys," Yamamoto chuckled weakly. "The fact remains, we all started fighting in the end..."

"Indeed." Tsuna rubbed his temples. His mother had always said that kids could be a headache, in which case he supposed he wasn't entirely missing out even though he and Kyouko hadn't managed to have a child of their own yet. At least he got his fair share of migraine dealing with his men. "You started a fight, at a reception by an allied don, which, despite all the informality, was still the celebration of his wedding. Do you even understand the enormity of this? Someone less goodnatured than Dino-san could have declared war on us!"

"Ah, it's all right, Tsuna," Dino chuckled. "I mean, I might have gotten angry if it had been a formal party, but it wasn't, right? Just some friends gathered together. And, well, these guys often fight when they get together. It's all right. Kyou fights all the time, too, and she at least attacks me." He smirked. "Not that I'd have declared war even if it had been a more formal occasion. Too many people would claim that it'd warrant a divorce for Kyou and I."

"That's not the point here, Dino-san." Nevertheless, Tsuna managed a weak smile at the mention of Kyou-san constantly attacking Dino. That much at least was still true even after all these years. "The point is that they caused a ruckus." He shook his head. "What exactly was the cause of the fight, anyway?" He hadn't managed to actually catch the start of the fight, himself; when he'd noticed they had already come to blows, Gokudera and Ryouhei fighting in earnest and Yamamoto getting somewhat mixed in. Kyou-san had put a quick end to it, yes, and had apparently quite enjoyed doing so, but Tsuna had still seen it appropriate to call this gathering for the following morning.

To his surprise, this time none of the three offered any explanation, not even to blame each other. They all seemed to be avoiding his gaze instead, and he could have almost sworn he actually spied a blush or two. No way. What could make his big, brave mafia hitmen blush like little girls?

"I think I might be able to shed some light on this," Dino murmured, and Tsuna wasn't sure whether he sounded more amused or exasperated. "As I said, Kyou set this in motion... because she and I had a little bet." As Tsuna glanced at him questioningly, he grinned. "She was certain that our dear Takeshi and Hayato here were attracted to each other, and that she could get them to finally admit it through the use of certain well-placed comments from Bianchi."

Now, Tsuna's eyes widened, immediately flitting back to his guardians. The flushes there deepened, though now Yamamoto looked mainly embarrassed and Gokudera just annoyed. "...Is this true?"

"Is what true?" Gokudera snapped, then apparently immediately regretted it. "Ah, didn't mean to talk like that, Tenth... but, well, your question is a bit unclear."

"Very well." Tsuna shook his head. Honestly. Kids. "Is there, or is there not, any, ah, attraction between you and Yamamoto?"

For a long time, there was silence. Then, finally, Gokudera nodded curtly, flushing even further.

"And did you, or did you not," Tsuna went on, doing his best to remain calm, "in any way act on this attraction last night?"

Again, a nod. Now, Yamamoto flushed further as well.

"So," Tsuna said, leaning back in his chair, "which one of you would like to tell me how this fact would lead to Gokudera-kun and big brother being at each other's throats like that?"

"It's all lawnhead's fault!" Gokudera spat. "He's the one who started making those -- those remarks!"

"They were acting inappropriately!" protested Ryouhei. "I wasn't about to just stand by while they were doing such things in front of kids!"

"It wasn't anything that inappropriate!" Gokudera exploded. "And the only kids there were the cow brat and I-Pin, who aren't that young, and the baby who didn't even notice!"

"So what did you do that Ryouhei found so inappropriate?" Dino asked, appearing more curious than anything. "Yamamoto, maybe you could tell us?"

"We, ah, kissed," Yamamoto admitted, appearing very embarrassed. "I mean, it might have been a pretty deep kiss, yeah, but I don't think it was anything to start a fight over... Not to mean disrespect to senpai, of course," he then said hurriedly. "It's just, well, it's not like it was anything really strange, so I suppose I can see why Gokudera got so angry."

"It was extremely strange!" Ryouhei protested. "You were kissing and hugging in front of everyone!"

"It wasn't in front of everyone, we were well out of the way," Gokudera hissed. "You've done worse in public with your girlfriend!"  
"But she's my girlfriend, not my boyfriend!" Ryouhei flushed now as well. "Do you want to be the one to explain to poor Lambo about bees and bees?"  
"No!" Gokudera spat. "But I really don't think he's that ignorant to begin with! I don't know if you've been living with your eyes closed this far, but I'm pretty damn sure the little pervert hasn't! He knows damn well that just because he likes kissing girls doesn't mean everyone does!"

"So, what?" Tsuna interrupted before the argument could escalate into another full-out fight. "Big brother disapproved of your kissing Yamamoto in public, you started a fight, and Yamamoto got mixed into it?"

"That's more or less it, yeah," Yamamoto admitted. "Sorry, Dino-san. Never meant to ruin your party."

"You didn't," Dino replied, sounding somewhat amused. "I assure you that your little fight was the best part of the entire evening for Kyou." He paused. "Though if you start a fight like that at the official ball we'll be holding later to announce our marriage and Kiyoshi's birth to the mafia world at large, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you." His voice was so perfectly serious, he either had to be extremely sincere or teasing them.

Not that it mattered much, Tsuna mused, looking over to where Gokudera and Ryouhei were working themselves into another argument despite his interruption, Gokudera's embarrassment coupled with his temper not a good counter for Ryouhei's impulsiveness. These guys didn't seem to have even noticed that anything had been said.

Sighing as he joined Yamamoto in breaking up the brewing fight, he almost wished he could have done like Kyou-san and married into another famiglia altogether.

*

"Both asleep, then?" Dino looked over to the door connecting their bedroom to the nursery as Kyou walked in.

"Happily so, yes." She stretched herself. "Kiyoshi seemed quite content for once, and the bird didn't give much of a trouble either. Apparently he's taken quite well to Hibird; they're actually sharing a perch."

"That's good to hear." Dino smiled. He knew Kyou had been concerned the owl Mukuro had given to their son would regard Hibird as potential prey, but apparently the animal was smarter than that. "You know, I never even knew owls could be diurnal."

"Neither did I, but then, I would think the illusionist would know better than to give my infant son a nocturnal pet," Kyou said wryly, shedding her robe as she walked towards the bed. Dino found himself quite deliciously distracted by the sight of her body wrapped in merely a fairly skimpy, sheer night gown. "If that were the case, I would have hunted him down and stuffed the ball of feathers down his throat."

"No, you wouldn't have," Dino chuckled. "You would have attacked him, certainly, but I know you better than that, Kyou. You wouldn't have punished the poor animal for being what nature made it."

"It's all for the better that we never needed to test your theory, is it not?" Kyou stretched her arms again, then raised her eyebrows as she noticed his intent gaze. "...Something interesting?"

"Oh, certainly." He smirked a bit, sitting up on the bed. "I was merely wondering how on Earth I managed to be lucky enough to get such a gorgeous wife."

"Easy. You didn't," she replied, chuckling even as she walked closer. He could swear her hips were swaying more than usual. It had to be intentional. "Instead, I got myself a tolerable husband."

"Only tolerable? You wound my heart." He pulled her closer as soon as she got on the bed, closing his lips over hers. She returned the kiss rather passionately, never one to be passive even in his embrace. It was one of the things he loved about her, anyway. Nothing was more off-putting than a woman who did nothing in bed except lie back and try not to fall asleep.

"Oh, please." Her hands hovered about his chest, short-trimmed nails just barely grazing skin. "We both know that I could call you an absolute terror and you'd be downright ecstatic that I was actually talking about you."

"You know me so well, darling." Dino chuckled, his hand wandering down her body, reaching the hem of her night gown and slipping under it. Her skin was soft and smooth were it wasn't marred by old scars, warm to touch despite how pale it was. He let his hand wander up her side even as she pushed at his shoulder, insistent in her gesture until he obediently fell down on his back, allowing her to lean over him.

"You're an annoying herbivore, that's all I need to know," Kyou murmured, her lips brushing against his before she moved over to place kisses on his jaw, then his neck, his collar bone, pausing for a moment to trace the outlines of his tattoo there with the tip of his tongue. She shivered as his hand wandered further up, cupping her breast. He rather enjoyed the minute changes the pregnancy had left to her body, Dino mused. Not that she hadn't been absolutely desirable before, no, but the fuller breasts and softer hips made her certainly even more irresistible.

"Oh, but you know me so much better than that," he insisted, his tone low as he let his other hand start wandering, too, hitching the night gown further up along her body. "You know everything about me, love. I bet you even know what I'm thinking."

Kyou raised her eyebrows, smirking as she lifted her head to look at him. "You're wearing nothing but your boxers, Bucking Horse. There's no damn doubt as to what you are thinking," her hand wandered down his stomach until it pushed against his slowly rising erection, "or which part of your body you're doing the so-called thinking with."

"So cruel, Kyou." He was tempted to pout, but instead chose to play briefly with her nipple. It always got a good reaction from Kyou. This time was no different, he noticed, her breath hitching as he fiddled softly with the hardening nub.

"I'm merely telling the truth and you know it." Her hand didn't abandon his groin, teasing and fondling him through his boxers even as her mouth returned to his skin. Damn, but she certainly knew how to drive him crazy, if nothing else.

Much though he enjoyed looking at the tiny little night gown, he was rather eager to get it away from her body, tossing it aside as soon as her arms were free before moving in to assault her breasts with kisses. Kyou certainly reacted favourably to that, straddling his stomach as he arched up to her, rocking her hips back against his erection even as her hands dug into his shoulders. God, but he loved this woman.

Regardless of whether Kyou returned his more affectionate feelings or not, she certainly seemed to agree with his desire at the moment, responding in quite delicious manners to his various actions. As she finally took mercy on him and allowed him to slide into her wet heat, he groaned aloud, unable to hold himself back as he finally claimed her body. Kyou, of course, would not for even a moment let him think he could be in complete control, here, starting to move against him even as she grazed her fingertips along the tattoo on his side, knowing that such actions would only drive him even more insane. She was, Dino decided mournfully, determined to take his sanity. Ah, well. It would damn well be worth it just for it.

For all that he was certainly sure he would entirely have to bid goodbye to his brain functions after this particular little tryst, though, he actually found himself still able to think even as he slowly came down from the high of his orgasm. Well, think for a certain meaning of the word, in any case. He certainly wasn't about to set up business contracts or join a debate any time soon, but at least he could manage to put a few words together into a somewhat coherent sentence in his mind, which was rather more than could be said about his abilities just moments before, with Kyou moving almost franticly against him and his own hands exploring her body, seeking to satisfy her as well.

"I love you, Kyou," he murmured tiredly, pressing a small kiss on the dark-haired head now resting on his chest. "I love you so much..."

"Yes," said Kyou, almost purring in the wake of her own pleasure, one hand tangling in his hair, twisting in the golden locks until her grip was almost painful. "Yes, Bucking Horse, I know."

It was, Dino well knew, the most he could expect to ever hear from her. If she ever said anything else back, he would obviously be ecstatic, but he certainly didn't expect it. This was Kyou, after all. This was the woman he had married, well knowing her ways of thinking. This was all he was going to get from her in response to his heartfelt confession, perhaps ever.

It was, strangely enough, more than enough for him.

*

 ****

**VI**

 ****

She did not, Kyou decided, feel very comfortable right now.

Most of it was a matter of clothing, she decided. A formal dress was certainly not the easiest attire to move in, especially when combined with high heels. If she'd thought the dress she'd been coaxed into wearing at the wedding celebration had been bad, this one was even worse, long and draping as it was.

Ah, well. In the unlikely case that there was a fight, she'd just have to rip off the hem, and to hell with indecency. She doubted Dino would complain at least.

Dino should have arrived already, she noted, checking her appearance in the mirror one last time. She looked... fine, she supposed, for all that she cared. Her lips twitched as she caught sight of the dark indigo stones on her ears. A pair, she had been told, much lessened the chance of shattering as the force of flames would be divided between two high-purity stones, and they were certainly less conspicuous than the usual rings. She was almost disappointed that Dino hadn't managed to secure her a pair of cloud ones yet, but it was just as well. Between these and the Vongola bracelet, even if she did have to use her flames she wouldn't have to reveal the secret of her rings.

"You do look stunning, my love." Dino's voice made her spin around, looking over to where he had appeared. He looked rather good in his formal suit, she decided, not that she would have ever told him that.

"Of course." She smirked. "You think I would allow myself to look anything less as I am formally introduced to the Cosa Nostra?"

"I would think such introductions have been made ages ago, lover." Dino raised his eyebrows even as he smiled, walking closer to her.

"Not as your wife and the hostess of the party." Her lips twitched. "There is a certain difference to being announced as one of Sawada's crowd and making your own entrance." Not that she cared much about the usual accolades or politics of the mafia, but she did know the importance of impressions, and especially the influence they could have. In the upper branches of the underworld, strength came not from your arms or weapons, but from the amount of sway you held over others, and that was very much a matter of politics and social schemes. She had never enjoyed being thought weak.

"Indeed." Dino lifted her hand to press a light kiss on her fingertips before offering his arm.

With a tiny smirk, she settled herself at his arm, head held high as she mentally prepared herself. It would no doubt be a torturous evening, but she had gone through worse, and she most certainly was not about to complain. She might not have particularly liked it, but she had never backed away from a battle, and that was what this was, in the end. Nothing more, nothing less, just another battle to add to the numerous ones she had gone through over the years, and just because she would be fighting it with words and gazes instead of tonfas and blades didn't mean it was any less lethal or challenging.

Dino glanced at her, a small smile on his lips. "Shall we, then, Donna Cavallone?" he asked, sounding rather amused as he nodded towards the doors. It had better not be at her expense.

"Most certainly, Don Cavallone." She inclined her head ever so slightly, matching his steps exactly as they walked into the noise and hassle of the actual party.

Just another battle.

All she had to do was win.

  
**  
At War Against the World   
**

**Part One**

 **  
_End_   
**


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